Missouri Association of Rural Education Logo

Cole Camp R-I School District where “It’s a great day to be a Bluebird,”  is a rural district located in Benton County in West Central Missouri.  The town of Cole Camp is a historic town located between the Missouri prairie to the north and the Ozarks to south.  The school district is the center of the Cole Camp community.  The community is supportive of the district whether it is academics, sports, or school group activities.  The Cole Camp school district is committed to providing a high quality education for each of its approximately 720 students in a supportive environment that prepares them for a career or post-secondary education.  This is accomplished through strong and productive communication between home and school.

The philosophy of the Cole Camp R-I School District is driven by the district’s Mission Statement in part with the “a maximum intellectual development of each individual, cultivated through successful teaching, and the ability to apply knowledge empowered by learning.”  This is accomplished by an excellent program of instruction fostering life-long learners ‘aiming of excellence.’  The past annual performance rate for the district has been nothing less than impressive at 95.4 and 92.5 in 2013 and 2014 respectively.  Some of their brightest spots in test scores were in the middle school math, scoring well above the state average in 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade.  In 8^th grade Math, Cole Camp scored 71% advanced and proficient and 72% in Science as compared to the state average rate of 49%.  When it comes the End of Course exams, Cole Camp students scored above the state average in 6 out of 8 exams that were taken.  The test scores all indicating that good things are happening in the classroom.  While they district is proud of the scores and numbers, there is also a sense of belonging and pride that comes with being part of the Cole Camp community.

The community has much to be proud of when it comes to the students.  In fact, most students (approximately 80 % of the high school students) are highly involved in many different varieties of extracurricular activities while maintaining a high level of academic success.  These many activities allow the students to be well-rounded and ready to face their future as they dive into the real world.  The school also makes a tremendous effort to engage the faculty, staff and students with the community.  One of the best ways has been through the Cole Camp fair.  The Community Teachers Association sponsors children’s games.  The teachers organize the games, facilitate the contests, and award prizes.  The FFA helps in setting up folding chairs for fair patrons while the football team helps set up fair displays for the fair board as well as assisting in transporting of all patients of the Good Samaritan Nursing Home to the festivities so that residents can be active participants.

Cole Camp also has organizations that give back to the community in many ways.  NHS sponsors a twice-yearly blood drive as well as organizing a breakfast at the American Legion for all veterans on Veterans Day.  The Student Council organizes a week called the “Five Days of Giving” to collect food items for the local food pantry.  Each year the Student Council also sponsors a senior citizen prom.  The elementary counselor coordinates the Buddypack program for needy students.  The elementary classes participate in a penny war each year challenging each class to raise the most money.  The funds from this project are used to sponsor the local honor flight to a send a Cole Camp veteran to Washington D.C. to see the national monuments.

The Cole Camp R-I community is buzzing with the excitement of all the positive changes and activities taking place.  All this is a great testament to the heart of the community, the district board, the administration, staff and students.  Congratulations to the Cole Camp R-I School District on a job well done and your selection as the Outstanding Rural Missouri School District for the 2015-2016 school year.