Go learn outside

The Hayden Canyon Charter School of Expeditionary Learning is still in the proposal stage, but the board hopes to open the doors in 2017.

Nancy Larsen, a sixth-grade teacher at Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy, is working with the HCCSEL board of directors as a consultant. She said the board is currently working on a revised petition to the Idaho Public Charter School Commission and the board is confident it will be approved later this year.

The Hayden Canyon area is a subdivision located on the northeast side of Hayden in the Lakeland School District, bordering the Coeur d'Alene School District. Expeditionary learning is based in hands-on learning and Hayden Canyon has some natural hiking trails that create an ideal setting for the school.

"I think the setting and the philosophy are a great match," Larsen said. "Expeditionary learning of course can be done anywhere — it's done in New York City and urban areas — but this setting just really lends itself for kids to be outside of the classroom and doing some exploration."

Expeditionary learning is an inquiry-based learning technique where students use interdisciplinary skills to work on modules. Larsen said, for instance, there would be a theme for perhaps six weeks where the students would work inside that theme, working toward a project. They would then demonstrate that project in some way. She said it spawned from the philosophy of Outward Bound — a nonprofit outdoor-education organization with approximately 40 schools around the world.

"There are other schools around the country that are full expeditionary learning schools that are doing quite well," Larsen said. "It's just a population of students that require maybe a little bit more inquiry and hands-on."

HCCSEL is a free, public charter school open to all students. The proposed opening is to start with one class in each grade, K-6. The school would be open to students from the Lakeland and Coeur d'Alene school districts, but beyond that as well if there are still openings, Larsen said. If the petition is accepted by the commission, HCCSEL will be the first charter school in Hayden.

The process for HCCSEL began in 2014 when the Lakeland School Board decided not to authorize the charter and suggested the organizers seek authorization from the Idaho Public Charter School Commission.

Laura Rumpler, communications director for Coeur d'Alene School District, said the district could not locate a current proposal for the charter school, in which case it is too soon to anticipate the impact of the school to the district. Larsen said the district was most likely having trouble locating the proposal because they submitted the petition to the commission once and it was denied, but are now working on a revised petition because some of the requirements at the state level have changed in the last two years.

Rumpler said the Coeur d'Alene School District is a public district of choice, offering multiple programs and magnet schools to help families "find the right fit of a public education."

"We look forward to working with any neighboring school district or charter school so there continues to be more public choice for families in our region," she said.