Learning at PEAK Mastery

Why it Matters

Curiosity deserves room to grow.

Children have different interests, strengths, needs, and ways of discovering the world.

One student might spend hours designing and building something.

Another may become fascinated by wildlife, history, music, robotics, cooking, or entrepreneurship.

Another might discover a love for serving others, working with animals, gardening, performing, or learning a trade.

These interests can become powerful opportunities for academic growth, personal development, and discovering purpose.

Extended Learning Experiences give students time and flexibility to follow meaningful questions, develop capabilities, and connect learning to their lives.

Through ELEs, students have opportunities to become:

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNERS

Set goals, make plans, manage responsibilities, and take increasing ownership of their progress.

CURIOUS EXPLORERS

Discover interests, ask questions, investigate ideas, and pursue learning beyond assigned activities.

CAPABLE PROBLEM-SOLVERS

Practice practical skills, work through challenges, adapt plans, and apply knowledge in new situations.

CONFIDENT CREATORS

Design, build, write, experiment, perform, develop ideas, and bring meaningful projects to life.

CONNECTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS

Learn from people, participate in community opportunities, serve others, and develop a sense of belonging and contribution.

LIFELONG LEARNERS

Discover that learning is not limited to school and that their curiosity, interests, and goals can continue guiding them throughout life.

We want students to recognize that learning is something they can take ownership of, not something that only happens when someone assigns it.

Three Ways to Experiences ELEs

At PEAK Mastery, families have three primary options for Extended Learning Experiences. Students may participate through one or a combination of these options, depending on their learning plans, interests, needs, and family circumstances.

A Closer Look at ELE Studio

ELE Studio is designed to give students a welcoming place to continue learning and connecting on Fridays.

Some students may come to collaborate with peers.

Others may want a place to work on a project, explore a creative interest, or participate in an organized activity.

Some may benefit from the structure of an on-campus environment while still having opportunities for choice and independence.

The goal is not to recreate another traditional school day.

It is to provide an intentional, flexible environment where curiosity, initiative, creativity, and connection can grow.

EXPLORE

Discover interests, questions, and possibilities.

CREATE

Design, build, experiment, practice, and bring ideas to life.

COLLABORATE

Work with peers, share ideas, and learn from others.

GROW

Develop skills, pursue goals, receive feedback, and reflect on progress.

CONNECT

Build friendships and remain part of the broader PEAK Mastery community.

How Friday ELE Studio Works

ELE Studio is planned as a Friday enrichment opportunity, with structured activity periods and options for full-session or partial-session participation.

Students may participate in available activities based on interests, age-appropriate groupings, scheduling, and capacity.

Because ELE Studio is optional, students may instead complete meaningful ELEs at home or in the community.

Important distinction: ELE Studio is an enrichment opportunity. When PEAK Mastery determines that a student needs required academic intervention or additional instructional support, that support will be communicated and coordinated separately through designated staff.

How ELEs Work

Extended Learning Experiences provide flexibility, but students are not expected to navigate their learning entirely on their own.

PEAK Mastery educators help students understand expectations, identify goals, reflect on progress, and connect experiences to meaningful learning.

The level of support and independence will vary with each student's age, readiness, and needs.

What an ELE Might Look Like

ELEs can look very different from one student to another. These examples illustrate some of the possibilities rather than a required list of activities.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Volunteer with local organizations, support a meaningful cause, or contribute to a community project.

PASSION PROJECTS

Explore a personal interest through research, practice, experimentation, creation, or investigation.

ARTS & CREATIVE PURSUITS

Develop skills in drawing, painting, photography, music, theater, writing, design, or other creative fields.

STEM & MAKING

Build models, explore robotics, investigate scientific questions, experiment with technology, or design solutions.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES & NATURE

Explore trails, study wildlife, observe ecosystems, practice outdoor skills, or investigate natural environments.

CULTURAL & HISTORICAL EXPLORATION

Visit museums, investigate family history, explore cultural traditions, study languages, or learn about different communities.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Develop a product, explore a business idea, practice budgeting, investigate markets, or create something for others.

PRACTICAL & LIFE SKILLS

Learn cooking, gardening, sewing, repairs, woodworking, budgeting, or other useful everyday skills.

CAREER & SKILL EXPLORATION

Learn from professionals, explore industries, develop a trade-related skill, or participate in age-appropriate career experiences.

FAMILY & INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING

Learn alongside parents, grandparents, siblings, or other family members through meaningful projects and shared experiences.

ACADEMIC EXTENSION

Pursue deeper research, reading, writing, mathematics, science, or other learning connected to individual academic goals.

CLUBS & COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

Participate in available ELE Studio activities, develop shared interests, create with peers, and learn through teamwork.

And so much more.

An ELE doesn't have to be expensive, elaborate, or far from home to be meaningful.

A student who learns to bake bread, studies the science behind the ingredients, adjusts measurements, practices a recipe, and reflects on the results may be engaging in valuable interdisciplinary learning.

Another student might spend time interviewing a grandparent, researching local history, and creating a family documentary.

Another might design a garden, calculate growing space, investigate soil, track plant growth, and share what they discover.

The value of an ELE comes from the learning, purpose, and growth within the experience, not how impressive the activity looks.

Learning Can Be Interdisciplinary

One interest can open the door to many skills.

An ELE may begin with a single interest but naturally connect to several areas of learning.

Imagine a student who wants to build a raised garden bed.

MATHEMATICS

Measure dimensions, calculate area and volume, estimate materials, and create a budget.

SCIENCE

Investigate soil, ecosystems, plant needs, water, and growing conditions.

LITERACY

Read instructions, research plant varieties, document observations, and communicate discoveries.

ENGINEERING & DESIGN

Develop a plan, choose materials, build, test, and make adjustments.

LIFE SKILLS

Use tools appropriately, practice responsibility, care for plants, and solve practical problems.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Explore growing produce for a student market or sharing the harvest with others.

REFLECTION

Evaluate what worked, what changed, what was learned, and what could be improved.

A project that begins with gardening can become an opportunity to develop academic competencies, practical abilities, confidence, responsibility, and creativity.

The interest sparks the learning. The experience gives students a reason to use what they know.

Support & Accountability

ELEs are designed to provide students with greater flexibility and ownership, not to remove academic expectations or educator support.

PEAK Mastery maintains responsibility for monitoring student progress, supporting learning, and evaluating demonstrated mastery.

CLEAR LEARNING EXPECTATIONS

Students and families receive guidance about appropriate ELE participation, academic responsibilities, and how learning should be documented.

GOAL SETTING & PLANNING

Students receive age-appropriate support in identifying learning goals, choosing meaningful activities, and planning next steps.

EDUCATOR GUIDANCE

PEAK Mastery educators provide direction, feedback, coaching, and assistance based on student needs and learning expectations.

LEARNING DOCUMENTATION

Students may document participation and progress through reflections, learning records, completed assignments, project evidence, photographs, presentations, discussions, or other approved methods.

PROGRESS MONITORING

Educators review relevant evidence, monitor academic progress, identify learning needs, and determine when additional support or challenge is appropriate.

REFLECTION & GROWTH

Students consider what they learned, recognize accomplishments and challenges, and develop greater independence over time.

Flexibility changes how and where students learn. It does not eliminate accountability for learning.

How is ELE Participation Counted?

Learning is recognized through meaningful participation and evidence.

PEAK Mastery's approach to learning is based on meaningful educational engagement rather than assuming that learning only occurs while a student is physically seated in a classroom.

ELE participation and attendance will follow PEAK Mastery's approved learner-validated attendance procedures and applicable Utah requirements.

Depending on the student's learning plan and the activity, documentation may include completed work, learning records, educator interaction, project evidence, reflections, or other approved verification.

Students and families will receive guidance on how to record and communicate learning so that participation can be appropriately verified.

An experience being educational does not automatically mean it satisfies attendance requirements or demonstrates academic mastery. Students must follow the school's approved processes, and educators determine whether submitted evidence demonstrates the relevant competencies.

This helps preserve flexibility while maintaining clear expectations and accountability.

ELEs in Our Two Learning Pathways

Extended Learning Experiences are an intentional part of both PEAK Mastery pathways.

In both pathways, students may use appropriate ELE opportunities at home, in the community, or through Friday ELE Studio.

The amount and type of academic work, learning support, and ELE participation may differ based on the pathway and individual student needs.

Whether students participate in the 4-Day or 2-Day On-Site Pathway, they remain part of the same school community, with shared values, learning expectations, and opportunities to grow together.

ELE Studio & Academic Support

Enrichment and intervention serve different purposes.

PEAK Mastery recognizes that students need different types of support at different times.

ELE Studio provides optional Friday opportunities for enrichment, exploration, collaboration, and personal growth.

Academic intervention provides targeted instruction or support when a student needs additional help developing required competencies.

These are not interchangeable.

A student may enjoy participating in ELE Studio while also needing targeted academic intervention.

When required intervention is identified, PEAK Mastery will communicate the expectations and coordinate support through designated staff. Participation in optional enrichment does not replace required instructional support.

Our goal is to make room for both individual interests and individual learning needs.

ELEs Grow with the Learners

Greater independence develops over time.

Extended Learning Experiences can be meaningful at every age, but the amount of planning, independence, and responsibility should grow as students develop.

YOUNGER LEARNERS

Explore With Guidance

Younger students may participate in family-supported activities, hands-on experiences, read-alouds, nature exploration, creative projects, and practical skill-building.

Adults help students make choices, notice learning, follow routines, document experiences, and reflect through conversation, drawings, photographs, or other age-appropriate methods.

GROWING LEARNERS

Pursue Interests & Build Ownership

Students begin taking greater responsibility for choosing activities, setting goals, organizing materials, managing time, documenting progress, and reflecting on results.

They may pursue longer projects, participate in community experiences, develop practical skills, or explore personal interests more independently.

OLDER LEARNERS

Develop Independence & Discover Purpose

Older students may pursue increasingly complex projects, community involvement, career exploration, advanced skill development, entrepreneurial experiences, research, service, and other meaningful opportunities.

With appropriate guidance and accountability, students practice managing responsibilities, communicating with others, making decisions, and connecting their interests to possible future pathways.

As students grow, ELEs provide opportunities to move from guided exploration toward increasing independence, capability, and purpose.

Families as Learning Partners

Families play an important role in helping students recognize and pursue opportunities beyond school.

That doesn't mean parents are expected to become full-time teachers or design an entire curriculum themselves.

PEAK Mastery remains responsible for its instructional program, academic expectations, assessment, and appropriate student support.

Families may help students access experiences, encourage interests, provide supervision when needed, support routines, and help younger learners document or reflect on learning.

For some families, that might mean visiting a museum or exploring outdoors.

For others, it might mean working on a home project, learning a skill together, participating in a community program, or using ELE Studio.

Family participation can look different from one household to another.

Our goal is to create meaningful options while recognizing that families have different schedules, resources, needs, and circumstances.

Connection Beyond the Classroom

Flexible learning doesn't have to mean learning alone.

Students benefit from opportunities to build friendships, collaborate, learn from others, and feel part of a larger community.

ELE Studio offers one way for students to connect on Fridays through shared interests, collaborative activities, and on-campus experiences.

Community-based ELEs may also create opportunities to interact with peers, family, experts, mentors, organizations, and people of different ages and backgrounds.

School-wide events, fieldwork, student markets, performances, celebrations of learning, and other PEAK Mastery experiences provide additional opportunities for connection.

How ELEs Connect to Other Learning Experiences

Learning doesn't happen in isolated pieces.

Extended Learning Experiences create opportunities to continue, deepen, or apply learning introduced through other parts of the PEAK Mastery model.

FOUNDATIONS & GUIDED STUDY

Students may practice essential academic skills, work toward personal learning goals, complete assignments, or pursue independent investigations as part of their planned learning.

WONDER WORKSHOPS

An ELE may allow students to continue researching a question, develop a project, conduct an experiment, build something, or investigate a topic more deeply.

LITERACY ADVENTURES

Students may explore a topic inspired by a book, visit a relevant place, interview someone, write creatively, or develop a project connected to what they are reading.

FIELDWORK & EXPEDITIONS

Community-based ELEs may provide additional opportunities to investigate real places, learn from experts, gather evidence, or extend fieldwork experiences.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & STUDENT MARKETS

Students may use ELE time to develop products, research markets, practice financial skills, create promotional materials, or prepare for authentic entrepreneurial experiences.

LIFE SKILLS

Cooking, gardening, repairs, budgeting, organization, and other practical activities may provide meaningful opportunities to develop capability and independence.

COACHING & REFLECTION

Educators help students recognize how their interests, experiences, challenges, and accomplishments connect to their goals and personal growth.

ELEs create room for learning to continue, connect, and grow in ways that are meaningful to each student.