Emma Price, a Camdenton High School senior and her father, Matt Price, attended the Missouri School Boards Association dinner on April 20, 2021. Many of you may remember her grandfather, Charles Price who taught at Camdenton High School in the mid 1990's. At this meeting Emma was awarded the $1000 John T. Belcher Scholarship. Her essay competed with 14 other essays in the Region 8 area. Being a regional winner, her essay goes on to complete with the other 16 statewide Belcher winners for an additional scholarship. Students were asked to answer the question, “What did you learn from this Covid-19 pandemic experience and what should school district do to prepare if this were to happen again.”

 

Emma’s essays started with this message, “As difficult as it is to have our ‘normals’ pulled out from under us, it often exposes our greatest strengths and encourages improvement of our greatest weaknesses. The past year has undeniably destroyed the ‘normal’ of nearly every person in this world, but it has also precipitated incredible beauty and growth in our global community. Adapting to the vastly different educational climate of 2020 taught me to flexibly pursue goals not only academically but also personally, lending lessons that have helped me identify possible educational improvements for such a situation.” It is no surprise that such an outstanding and thoughtful student has been accepted at Harvard, although Emma has not yet declared her choice for her next phase of education beyond Camdenton.

 

Others from the Camdenton R-III School District who were there to congratulate Emma’s success were Camdenton Superintendents Dr. Tim Hadfield, Dr. Ryan Neal, and Dr. Julie Dill. Later in the evening, those attending school board members and school superintendents were shown the newest Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP 6). This plan will be used by the Missouri Department of Education to measure the success of school districts throughout Missouri using the following standards: School Board Leadership; Effective Teaching and Learning, Collaborative Climate and Culture; Data-based Decision Making; Alignment of Standards, Curriculum and Assessment; and Equity and Access. These new accountability standards will be put in operation in 2022-2023.

 

Pictured: Emma Price with Camdenton R-III School Board member Nancy Masterson