Summary
How important are the Science Labs? Options for next year’s foreign language? Math requirements for graduation? These answers and more from Seton.Can my daughter take some entry-level college courses for credit in your high school program?
Yes, Seton allows you to take dual-enrollment courses, for example, at your local community college. These courses count toward the high school diploma. Seton refers to these as an Independent Study course.
Courses must be approved by our high school counselors; then, send the grades when the student finishes the course, and we will count it toward their credit total. You can find the application for this on your MySeton page under Resources, “Request for Independent Study Approval.”
I’m curious, how important are the Science Labs?
The Seton diploma requires three science courses, one of which must be Biology. The other two can be whatever science you wish.
Labs are not required for any of them, but you CAN do labs with any science course. It is up to you whether you want to do them.
If you do, and turn in the lab reports, then we will change the science course name to that science, “with lab.”
For example, Biology becomes “Biology with lab”. If your child is considering a STEM field or one where science is a plus, the labs might be helpful both for a student’s own education and for making the transcript more favorable to colleges.
You will find a link under the resources for the student’s science course to add the labs.
We are reviewing our options for next year’s foreign language. What resources do other families use, from elementary to high school?
Seton does not offer enrolled courses in any foreign language until high school. However, we do sell some elementary-level languages in our bookstore (Spanish, French, and Latin) that you can do on your own. Visit setonbooks.com and search for the language.
In high school, we currently offer only Latin and Spanish through textbook courses, but we will accept any language for Independent Study.
Foreign languages are also great courses to do through co-ops, tutors, or dual enrollment at a local college. You will get credit for them through the Independent Study program.
Laura Clark – Academic Counselor
My 12th grader finished his courses late last year. Can he attend this year’s graduation?
Yes, in addition to 2026 graduates, students who completed their diploma requirements on or after June 1, 2025, are eligible to attend. Details are at setonhome.org/student-life/graduation-2026/
Are we supposed to send the curricula back in? We’ve been recycling it.
The lesson plans are rentals and are for use only by the enrolled student. We ask you to send them back to us when you are finished with them. However, you may opt to recycle or destroy the lesson plans yourself to save on shipping costs. We just ask that you let us know if you’re doing that.
You can call the counselors, email counselors@setonhome.org, or use our online chat. We would just need your family number.
This applies to the lesson plans and any unused tests. The books are yours to keep.
If my son took Algebra 1 in 8th grade, does it count towards his high school math requirement? He’s had Algebra 1, Geometry, and this year Algebra 2. Does that satisfy the three units of math?
Yes, any high school course will count toward the high school diploma requirements regardless of when it is taken. The three courses you mention do fulfill the diploma requirements for math. Algebra 1 and Geometry are required, plus one other high school math course. Most students take Algebra 2.
If a student is taking their high school math using the Saxon curriculum, they can also opt to take Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Advanced Math, since Saxon teaches Geometry as part of the high school math curriculum. Those three courses together satisfy the Geometry requirement only if done with Saxon.
