High School Campus
Inspired by the “real world,” our accredited, on-campus high school program helps students develop 21st century skills in a project-based learning environment. We believe that learning is more than the acquisition of facts; it’s the ability to do something constructive with those facts.
RMC is a school of choice. Students at Richard McKenna Charter High School are immersed in two classes a day every six weeks. This schedule allows students to master academic concepts in English, math, and science as they discover life-and-workplace lessons of resilience, reflection, and risk-taking.
Project-Based Learning
We pattern our on-campus program after the workplace. Here, education is our "job." Students engage in skills-rich projects and hands-on labs to learn core content skills, research, critical thinking, and collaboration. Students also learn public speaking and presentation skills as they display their knowledge in creative ways.
All student projects are modeled on real-world issues, solutions, documents, and artifacts. For example, in science, students might learn about alternative energy by creating a solar oven or experimenting with models of turbines. Or they could study weather through observation logs, installing a weather station, and creating a TV-style weather forecast. In geography, students could research and plan a dream vacation. In math and economics, they may “invest” in the stock market and learn to track their portfolio. By following current events and stock performance, students begin to recognize how our economy is tied to world events and learn to make wise trading decisions.
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Course Offerings
We work hard to keep our classes small to allow for optimal student-teacher interaction and plan student schedules based on student credit needs. In addition to offering core subjects on a rolling basis, our students enjoy a variety of elective courses. Students at RMC may participate in:
- English Electives
- Literature in the Dark
- Genre Studies: Graphic Novels, Mysteries, Fantasy, Poetry, Short Stories
- Technical Writing
- Communications
- Journalism
- Shakespeare
- Humanities
- Art: Intro to Painting, Fiber Art, Intro to Drawing, Math Art
- Inspirational People
- Spanish
- Art History: Gaming, Cinema, Theater
- World History
- Science Electives
- Earth Science: Astronomy
- Environmental Science: Ecology
- Chemistry: Food Science
- Life Science: Genetics, Zoology, Botany, Microbiology, Entomology, Anatomy, and Physiology
- Drones
- Forensic Science
- Social Studies Electives
- World History: China, England, Russia, Japan, Spain, Ancient Greece and Rome
- Latin American Studies
- American History: American Wars, History of Idaho, Women of the American West, 1960s America
- French Revolution
- Eastern Hemisphere
Attendance and Grading Policy
Due to the nature of our curriculum and our commitment to developing successful workplace behaviors, attendance is a high priority at RMC. Student grades reflect both their academic performance and their commitment to professionalism (which includes timely attendance).
Academic Grades
This is the grade we normally think of when a student completes a course, for example, A, B-, C, etc. The academic grade is based on how much and how well students complete assignments.
Attendance Grades
Attendance is essential to the success of every student at RMCHS. Students who go beyond the nine hours absent through absences or excessive tardies may lose credits and may have to petition to have the credits restored.
If you are going to be absent or late, your parent or guardian must call the office. Students are required to email teachers during an absence.
Volunteering
At RMC, we emphasize the importance of outstanding citizenship and encourage students to be leaders in the community through volunteerism. We require that all high school students earn five hours of volunteer service each session (30 hours per school year), with the option of doubling that amount for course credit. Students must meet this requirement to be promoted to the next grade. Seniors must complete a community service project to graduate. Learn more on our Volunteer page.
Workplace Behavior Grade
The Workplace Behavior Grade does count toward the overall course grade by being included as weekly assignments. Workplace Behavior assignments demonstrate the student’s willingness to learn and practice each Behavior while attending RMCHS.
The Workplace Behavior grade consists of demonstrating knowledge and application of the Workplace Behaviors, attitude, citizenship, adherence to school policies.
Volunteer Hours
We work hard to help RMC students develop character and citizenship alongside academic skills. We require all secondary grades to volunteer in our community throughout the year; we offer junior high students the opportunity to participate as well. Learn more about community volunteer needs on our Volunteer page.