When you are planning out a new school year, one of the biggest questions is how many courses your student should take. This article will offer some suggestions about course loads for each school level.

Please find our grade level course selection guides for more detailed advice here. Also, please keep in mind that academic support and advice is available from your advisor by email or through scheduling a phone appointment to discuss course choices and credits required (for high school), as well as other concerns in choosing the best plan for your student. 

Course Load Recommendations

While Kolbe does not have a list of required courses in Elementary and Middle School, and High School still allows a great deal of flexibility, we do offer some course selection support which you can find here. You can decide to take more courses, fewer courses, or different courses than those listed. Generally, we recommend keeping the following educational stages in mind when making these decision:

Pre-Kindergarten

At this time, students are developing their basic academic skills such as recognizing numbers 1-10, some letters and sounds, and colors, along with building fine motor and social emotional skills.

Grades K-5

The greatest emphasis should be placed on Religion, Language Arts, and Math courses, while gradually introducing Science and History more regularly as time allows. Some students also elect to begin a Foreign Language in elementary school, but it is not required.  

Grades 6-8

A stronger emphasis is placed on regularly including History and Science in addition to Religion, Language Arts, and Math to make sure the student is prepared for high school. Foreign Language is still considered optional in middle school. 

Grades 9-12

In high school, course load is tailored to the diploma and awards requirements chosen by the student (Minimum Graduation Requirements or Recommended Track). In general, a typical class load might be Theology, English/Literature, History, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Language, Physical Education and/or Fine Arts.