There are a multitude of unique courses available in the 2025 school year. In classes like Racial Awareness Seminar and Social Justice Leadership, students engage in discussions about real-world issues that often aren’t included in mainstream curriculum courses, according to the 2024-25 Course Catalog. In addition, classes such as Social Justice and Legal Studies integrate internships into their curriculum
While the course requirements for graduation are seemingly restrictive, there is flexibility, especially for upperclassmen. For example, sophomores must take an English class, but they can choose World Literature, Real World Literature or Future World Literature.
The art programs also offer a variety of options. The Unified Arts building boasts unique features such as a kiln room, a screening room, a woodworking studio and camera equipment room, allowing classes like Ceramics, Digital Video Production and others to access a diverse set of resources to explore their subjects thoroughly.
All of the course options can be quite exciting for incoming freshmen. Course selection can also be exciting for sophomores and juniors as they choose new classes and electives.
That said, such a diverse course catalog is also overwhelming. It can be difficult to decide on only a few electives each year, and juniors and seniors may feel as though they don’t have time to take all the classes that they want to. It’s hard to weigh a class in terms of if it will fit into your schedule, if you find it interesting, and if you think it is the right level of difficulty. This is especially hard when students also have to consider how a class will look on their transcript and what their family members may want them to pursue.
Ultimately, it’s important to remember to take the courses that you want to take, and if you end up not liking a class, that’s not the end of the world. High school is a time to experiment and find what you like, and mistakes are a part of the process.
Many classes, especially AP courses, interest students, but come with considerable workloads. Many students need free periods to work, and that may mean sacrificing other classes. Beyond that, scheduling conflicts make it hard and, in many cases impossible, for students to take all the classes they’re interested in. The fact of the matter is that our time is limited and most students won’t take all of the courses they want to take. There’s a delicate balance between pushing yourself to take on a large and engaging workload without taking on more than you can handle.
We are fortunate to be at a high school that offers such a wide range of courses and studies. There are over 300 courses every year, many of which are created based on the feedback of students from previous years. While finding balance in a course catalog this large may be stressful, it is ultimately this course catalog that allows students to challenge themselves and discover new passions.