The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Math. The lowest is 34% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Hawthorn Elementary
Hawthorn Elementary serves only third and fourth graders in Camdenton, part of the Camdenton R-III School District. It is a regular public school that functions as a dedicated intermediate building for these two grade levels. Because it does not serve older students, there is no graduation rate and no high school program offerings to report. The school’s grade span is narrow, and that shapes everything about it: no transition from kindergarten through fifth grade under one roof, just a focused two-year step in the middle of elementary.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest Hispanic population and small shares of students who are Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or multiracial. More than half of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a substantial share that gives a sense of the economic diversity of the families the school serves. Data on special education identification and English learner status was not available in the provided records, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about supports for those populations.
On the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), Hawthorn’s proficiency rates for the most recent school year show a split pattern. In mathematics, third graders and fourth graders both had scores that placed them near the middle of the range among tested schools, with the third-grade group meeting the standard at a somewhat higher rate than the fourth-grade group. In English language arts, third graders performed similarly to their math showing, but fourth graders had a notably lower proficiency rate. When all tested subjects and grades are combined into a single proficiency index, Hawthorn lands in the top quartile among districts in Camden County. That overall position indicates that relative to its county peers, the school’s composite performance is on the stronger side, even though individual grade-level results vary.
Camdenton itself is a small county-seat town that serves as a commercial and civic hub for the Lake of the Ozarks region. It has a car-oriented layout centered on a town square at the intersection of two highways, though new sidewalks are being added to improve pedestrian access to downtown businesses. The town is growing steadily, with population increases over the past decade and active commercial expansion. The school district is part of that growth story. In 2024, voters approved a bond issue for district-wide improvements that includes safety upgrades, HVAC replacement, roofing repairs, and classroom renovations, all without increasing the property tax rate. That kind of investment signals a community that is putting money into its school facilities even as the area expands.
Home values in the Camdenton zip code sit above the state median, though they have softened somewhat recently. Rents are moderate relative to median household income, and the housing market reflects the region’s steady growth trajectory. The broader Lake of the Ozarks tourism economy brings seasonal visitors and supports local jobs in retail, health care, and construction. The school district itself is a major employer in town.
Hawthorn Elementary is a compact school for two grades only, set in a growing lake-region town. Its composite academic performance is among the stronger ones in Camden County, though fourth-grade reading stands out as an area where a parent may want to understand more about the instruction and support in that subject and grade. The school’s economic makeup and the district’s recent facilities investment are relevant context for a family considering this school. Because the school covers only third and fourth grade, families with younger children will need to look at the district’s primary buildings, and those with older children will move on to other elementary and middle schools within Camdenton R-III.
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