Ok so I don't know if this was part of the curriculum but it was either a movie or tv show with 90s vibe it was about 4 kids/teens (1 girl early teens and 3 boys on is her younger brother) 2 of the boys are friends on is like the 90s bad boy or emo and the other is chubby.

The bother is very smart. They become friends and have a secret hid out. they compete with two other older boys for this place and rig cans on strings as warning system.

One day they find buried goods that thieves hide near by. The thieves find them and tie them up in a van and drive to an abandon house all the while the smart kid is counting the minutes and remembers the turns. At one point they pass a house with lots of dog that bark at the car (this helps later with the police). they put the teens in separate rooms (the boys in one and the girl in the other, the 2 male thieves interrogate the boys whilst the female thief interrogates the girl to find where the hide the goods and take the smart boy and leave the other to die, the boy getaway and leads the police back to the kids with what he remembers and the dogs barking is what helps them find the house.

I feel like this may have been an educational program but I'm not sure. I did think at one point it might have been the famous five or the goonies but I recently watch those and didn't see it.