Hayden Canyon Charter's Parent 101

Find Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Here!

An Amazing Opportunity

We are so excited that you have chosen Hayden Canyon Charter as your child's educational home! Being part of HCC's first year is an amazing opportunity; your children will be the first to walk through the halls of our brand new school and you as parents will help our decision making in creating opportunities for our students! We have sent out numerous opportunities for input via surveys sent out through: email, incorporated into the monthly newsletters, and links posted on Facebook. While it may seem like we are asking you a lot of questions...we actually are! We value your input and use this input to guide our decision making, so please take a moment and fill out all surveys we send out!

What is Expeditionary Learning?

Expeditionary learning is a curriculum based on the following components:


  • Hands on investigative learning- Students learn by investigating, researching and creating.

  • Project based model- Students create projects for each module to demonstrate depth of learning.

  • Deep content understanding- Students explore, think critically, and apply content knowledge to develop deep conceptual understanding they can apply across multiple disciplines

  • Applied learning- Students apply classroom content to real-world problems.

  • Mastery Based Assessment System- Students are assessed on a mastery based progression from beginning, to building, proficiency, and mastery.

  • Student-centered learning- Curriculum is differentiated for individual strengths and challenges.

  • CREW-Students experience CREW time daily. Please see below for more details.

For more information please visit:

Hayden Canyon Charter's 3 Areas of Achievment

Students are assessed daily in the following 3 areas:


  • Deep conceptual understanding and skills development- Students strive daily for deep understanding of content and skill development, preparing them for success in life and work.

  • Scholarly habits and character development- Students strive to achieve responsibility, acquire exceptional study habits, and develop habits of good character.

  • High quality work- Students develop an ethic of excellence, striving to create their highest quality work, through multiple drafts, the use of rubrics, peer editing, and teacher input.

What is Mastery Based Learning?

Mastery Based Learning is a Continuum of 4 levels of progression:

1-Beginning- Students are at a level of just starting out, with very little or no content knowledge.

2-Building- Students are building their knowledge and skills, but still require some support from the teacher.

3-Proficient- Students have reached proficiency and are independent.

4-Mastery- Students have reached a deep understanding and are able to teach the content to others.


https://www.sde.idaho.gov/mastery-ed/

What is CREW?

CREW is a class period where crew leaders (teachers and staff) guide students in:

  • social emotional development

  • character development

  • conflict resolution

  • bonding among peers

  • analyzing and interpreting where they fall on the mastery based continuum in each of their subjects in preparation for student led conferences.

What is an Expedition?

Learning expeditions are the signature EL Education curricular structure. They make standards come alive for students. These long-term, in-depth studies offer real-world connections that inspire students toward higher levels of academic achievement. Learning expeditions involve students in original research, critical thinking, and problem solving, and they build character along with academic skills. All learning expeditions explicitly focus on building literacy skills particularly in reading and writing nonfiction text and writing from evidence.

What are Modules and Celebrations of Learning?

  • Modules are Thematic Units that last approximately 9 weeks, curricula is centered around each grade level's theme.
  • At the end of each module, students complete a project focusing on a particular topic, which encompasses all areas of study.
  • Celebrations of Learning are held at the end of each module and include a gallery walk designed for students to showcase their work (these are held during the day, and YES parents are highly encouraged to attend), followed by an evening of recognizing our students achievements.

Coronavirus Response Plan

HCC is currently creating a Coronavirus Response Plan. This plan must be approved by Panhandle Health and Idaho SDE prior to opening in September. Last month, we sent out surveys giving parents a chance to provide input on our modified schedule should we need to shift to physical distancing on campus https://forms.gle/ZPAPu4hdUKTt72CN6. If you did not complete the survey please do so by July 1, 2020. We would love to have everyone's input prior to finalizing our plan!


Here is a brief synopsis of our plan:


  • Full opening if approved by Panhandle- 100% of students on campus with required school sanitization of all surfaces in place.
  • Physical Distancing if required by Panhandle- One of the following options will be enacted. Option One: 1/2 of our students would either attend 2 days per week on campus and 2 days at home via Zoom, NearPod, FlipGrid, as well as completing hands-on activities. Option Two: students would attend 1/2 day mornings or afternoons on campus and 1/2 day on-line with hands-on activities at home (please choose your preference using the link above).
  • 100% off campus learning- Students would utilize Zoom, NearPod, FlipGrid, etc., as well as completing hands-on activities and labs. Student collaboration would continue and project based learning would be incorporated into this learning environment.

Should any parent prefer their child attend virtually at any time during these times, there will be an opportunity for students to learn simultaneously with their classmates using Zoom and Swivel to provide real-time classroom instruction and participation.Teachers will include all students, in-class, and online in classroom learning.

Additional Questions asked at our Parent 101's

  • Will students be required to wear masks while at school? We are required to follow Panhandle Heath's guidelines. As of now, masks are optional and will be provided should you wish for your child to wear one. It is important to note that this could change as conditions change...stay tuned for updates!
  • Will there be a bus route? We have purchased a new bus and it is currently being built. Due to Covid shutdowns, our delivery date will be mid-September. Our bus route can only be within our primary attendance zone, however we are researching placement of bus stops on the boundaries of our zone. We will post our bus route on our website as soon as it has been finalized.
  • Will there be a lunch program this year? Unfortunately, there will not be lunches provided during our first year, students will need to bring a sack lunch. We are finalizing plans to provide pizza on Thursdays for $1.00 a slice!
  • Will sports be offered? We would love to provide after school sports to our students; however, we will not have adequate space to practice certain sports on site; however, we do have cross country trails and are developing a frisbee golf course. It is our hope to start a Sports Committee to help overcome some of our obstacles. Please watch for a Sports Committee sign-up form in the next Education Director's Newsletter.
  • Will we have a playground? Yes, we are purchasing a playground structure, several other playground items, as well as putting in a grass field. We will need help raising money and seeking donations for fencing and bark in addition to help putting all of this in. Please plan on attending our Parent Crew meeting on June 23 @ 5:30 to become involved in this process!