Educational Opportunities
The MOUNTAIN GROVE R-III SCHOOL SYSTEM is among the best in Missouri having achieved AAA classification, the highest awarded by the State Department of Education. Excellent teacher-to-student ratios, qualified teaching personnel, extracurricular activities and organizations, programs for gifted and special needs students, as well as "Early Childhood" and "Parents as Teachers" programs are just some of the elements contributing to the excellence that is the Mountain Grove R-III School System. However, academics is not the only area in which Mountain Grove schools excel, athletics is another. The Panther squads consistently finish near the top of their conference in a variety of sports.
The OZARK MOUNTAIN TECHNICAL CENTER adds yet another component to the local scholastic agenda by offering one and two-year training programs in the following areas: Agriculture Education, Automotive Collision Tech, Automotive Tech, Building Trades, Business and Office Tech, Electronic Tech, Health Occupations, Marketing Education, Heating, Air- Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Tech, Welding Tech, Industrial Arts Tech, Family and Consumers Science and Welding Tech. In addition to Mountain Grove, six other school districts (Ava, Mansfield, Seymour, Norwood, Cabool and Houston) are served by the Technical Center.
The MOUNTAIN GROVE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY was founded by a community board of directors in 1982 to serve families of all denominations. Utilizing the facilities of the First Free Will Baptist Church, the Academy offers a well rounded education with certified teachers, an established music program, extracurricular activities and a sports program for the middle and high school students. The Academy offers classes to students K-12, and a K-4 session is also available on a half or full time basis to 4 year-olds. Developing students' potential in all areas of life--intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual is the goal of the Mountain Grove Christian Academy.
The SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CAMPUS at Mountain Grove offers a variety of courses for the first two years of a college degree program. Those college students interested in horticulture can enroll in special courses and internships in the production and processing of fruit crops offered by the Department of Fruit Science located on the Research Campus.
An increased number of courses leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees are being developed to serve residents of the Mountain Grove area. State funding has been obtained for renovation of Faurot Hall into a Research and Education Center on the Research Campus.