How do students at 6 period high schools fit 4 years of 5 cores + arts + electives + health/PE?
Given the usual recommendation to take 4 years of each of 5 cores (English, math, science, foreign language, history / social studies), that leaves little schedule space for arts (~1 year expected by some colleges), electives, and high school requirements like health and PE. How does a college prep student aiming for more selective colleges fit it all in?
Granted, students aiming for less selective colleges may not need 4 years of each core other than English. While the majority of college prep students fit into this category, they do not seem to be the focus of these forums, so it seems to be a common question from students aiming for highly selective colleges asking if they can take fewer than 4 years in some core (or less than the highest level available in math and foreign language) to fit in some electives.
A lot take an extra elective online. Many APs are available this way. And/Or a summer college course. Plus, most states probably only require 2-3 semesters of health/PE.
Many students start foreign language in middle school and therefore are taking level 2 or 3 by 9th grade. This means they will have either that additional period in both 11th and 12th grade, or just in 12th grade.
With 6 periods, there are five for the core courses and one for the arts. Itâs when someone wants to do two electives (e.g. art and drama, or band and acting class) that this is an issue.
Most kids can do the five core classes and one arts elective with no difficultyâŠat allâŠ
Yes, also worth noting that arts are recommended but not required. My D didnât have any art in hs but mentioned in her additional info that she had three years of orchestra in middle school. Seemed to suffice.
There are also arts things kids do outside of school. Civic theater, dance class, instrument lessons, youth orchestras or wind ensembles, art classes, etc. Iâm not talking about classes for HS credit. But these do enable a kid to do these things outside of school.
My kids did HS band all four years. They both had an additional elective period in 11th and 12th grade because they did honors Spanish 4 in 10th grade. That was sufficient for colleges.
Our school district offers summer school and most students trying to take [at least] 4 years in each core subject do summer school. It isnât the summer school of yesteryear.
Students who donât want to take summer school often will drop their lunch period to take the courses necessary. Our school also offers âzero hourâ for some courses (mostly AP science double periods) which mean some students come to school an hour early every day.
Edited to Add: In Illinois, there are only THREE classes considered core. English, Science and Math. Social studies and foreign language are considered electives. Illinois students are only required to take 2 years of social studies (US History and Govtâ/Econ). They are only required to take 1 year of either music OR art OR foreign language.
Completing only the basic requirements for high school graduation in Illinois does not mean that you are anywhere near competitive for college admissions.
At our 6-period HS, most students in grade 9-11 are on tracks where they take 5 core classes (English, math, science, history / social studies, foreign language) plus one elective each year. In 12th grade, there might be room for two electives if the student has reached a high enough level in their foreign language.
There is a PE requirement, and academically ambitious students figure out a way to get this done outside the school day so that they do not lose one of their precious class periods.
Our HS is large and has tons of great electives including classical music and jazz, dance and theater, all kinds of visual arts, computer science, mechatronics, robotics, biotech with labs (you have to take this as an elective along with your regular science courses), pre-professional courses like technical stage management (you join the union!), EMT and firefighting, you name it. Every student I know would actually love to take performing arts AND visual arts AND some kind of STEM elective like robotics or CS or biotech ⊠but students can pick only one of these during the regular school day.
Some elective-type classes also have versions taught in âzeroâ or â7thâ period outside of the regular school day, or can be pursued in after school clubs. For example, you can still join the robotics team even if you canât fit the robotics class into your schedule.
Science labs are taught in zero or 7th period, so that they donât take up an extra period during the day. This means that most students in 10-12 (who have lab science classes) already have one of these âextraâ periods reserved for their lab science.
Since this schedule went into effect after some on my kids had already graduated, I really didnât pay much attention since they figured it out, and knew what to do for half days or delayed openings.
Itâs tricky. Our district requires two years of PE. If you are an athlete on a team, I think you can waive one of the years, which my older two kids did. My third kid is not sporty and is currently taking her second year of PE. I know colleges have knowledge of high schools, their curriculum, etc, but I hope they also have knowledge of the middle schools, where algebra is no longer offered. So the kids coming out of private middle schools already have that extra year of math under their belt, but it was not an option for my kid.
Similarly, language. The middle school did offer Spanish 1, but it was Zoom school during Covid, and I would say my kid learned almost nothing, so started Spanish 1 all over again in 9th grade.
They do have the option of dual enrollment through the community college but thatâs extra and doesnât count towards graduation requirements as far as I can tell.
And weâre in CA, so there is the art requirement as well. These kids will have met the minimal requirements for admission to UC, but it takes extra drive and ambition to go above and beyond. You likely have to give up a good piece of your summer. I guess thatâs what UC is looking for thoughâŠ
Interesting. Thatâs hard at our school. The first year, I believe, is mandatory for all. The second year you can get out of if you play a school sport (maybe it needs to be varsity level, although I donât recall that detail). Aside from that, not really any options - I know because D certainly tried (she did a club sport outside of school with professional coaching and training and various benchmarks recognized through formal level testingâŠbut only SCHOOL sports can replace 2nd year PE, so no goâŠof course her second year of PE ended up being online anyway due to COVID, which was a joke, but still took up a designated class period).
They need a total of 4 semesters of PE credit, and can fulfill this with an after school (or before school) team or varsity sport⊠which is of course super time consuming but it doesnât eat into the school day⊠or an organized sport outside of school like martial arts (using a complex âPE waiverâ system that the teacher / program has to validate), or a certain number of hours of classes + gym time at the local YMCA (a structured program sponsored by the Y).
There is also a zero period PE class that seniors are required to take if they still need a PE credit or two. This class has limited availability since itâs really more of a catch up class for seniors.
I like your schoolâs policy much better. I wonder if thatâs really the more common way of handling it (it should be!).
(Will add that our schoolâs PE program is actually problematic for several reasons which I wonât get into here as it is obviously very off topicâŠbut it would be very welcome by many families if there were options to replace it with an alternative - although maybe thatâs precisely why there arenât many options, too many would drop it.)
Our school tooâŠmy daughterâs gymnastics did not count for PE credit even though she practiced 9 hours/week, competed on weekends, etc. Had to be a school-sanctioned sport, so she did a season of track (cut short by covid closure), and a season of rowing.
Freshman year: Five core classes plus PE
Sophomore year: Five core classes plus PE
Junior year: Five core classes plus visual/performing art
Senior year: Five core classes plus vocational/technical art
Those are all the requirements - both for high school graduation and for UC/CSU eligibility. Our school also offers an optional 7th period for any student who wants to take an extra elective, such as additional art class or band.
Iâm very jealous of other schoolsâ PE requirements. Not only is it required all 4 years, each semester, but there is no getting out of it. Four of my kids played 3 seasons of varsity sports every year, and 3 of them also had sports outside of school (2 club soccer and 1 10+ hours of dance a week). No option for summers.
