Kolbe Academy was founded in 1980 as a 1st through 7th grade school, with a grade per year added until it encompassed 1st-12th Grades. Trinity Education Center, Inc. was founded in 1991 in Fairfield, California as a home school. In 1995 it began doing business as Trinity Grammar and Prep as a 1st through 12th Grade school with 50 students.

The founders of both schools foresaw the need to form good Catholic citizens who could effectively defend their Faith and country through a thorough understanding of Catholic doctrine and regular reception of the Sacraments, as well as having the formation and skills necessary to be productive and virtuous members of society. These founding families also recognized a need for better, more individualized and intensive instruction in basic education.

In 2008, recognizing the strength of the schools’ common bonds, the two schools united to form Kolbe Academy & Trinity Prep. Now four years post-merger, Kolbe-Trinity remains a vibrant part of the educational and Catholic communities in Napa.