Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus

Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus does not use a standardized entrance exam; admission uses an on-campus assessment or visit day.

The school publishes the following application details. The school website Admissions page lists five steps: (1) choose a campus based on the child’s age, as grades 3 through 6 are offered only at the Willowbrook campus; (2) schedule a campus visit (Willowbrook, 949-497-8310); (3) after the visit, receive a link to the online application and pay the nonrefundable $300 application fee; (4) applicants for K1 through grade 6 who pass review are invited to Visit Days in the classroom, or placed on a waitlist first, and before the visit day must submit their two most recent report cards, immunization records, and a Visit Day liability release, and the school may ask a current or former teacher to complete a recommendation form; (5) the school sends an acceptance email and enrollment instructions. The school website does not publish a fixed application deadline.

This school does not use a standardized entrance test. It assesses applicants on campus, so preparation centers on the visit day and the parent interview rather than test registration. Application dates are set by the school each year; ask the admissions office for the current calendar and plan backward from it.

Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus tuition for 2026-27 is $18,350 to $22,900.

Tuition for K1 through grade 6 at the Willowbrook campus for the 2026-27 school year (school website, Willowbrook campus tuition PDF): K1 $18,350, K2 $19,500, grade 1 $20,700, grade 2 $21,100, grade 3 $21,500, grade 4 $22,000, grade 5 $22,100, and grade 6 $22,900. These are standard school-day rates: K1 and K2 run 8:45 to 14:45, grades 1 and 2 run 8:30 to 15:00, and grades 3 through 6 run 8:00 to 15:30. Three ways to pay: in full in August; 50% in August and 50% the following January; or in 10 installments from August through the following May, each due a month in advance. Note that the school operates multiple campuses (South Laguna, Manzanita, and Willowbrook) and publishes a separate tuition schedule for each; this page applies only to K1 through grade 6 at the Willowbrook campus.

Extended care is billed monthly: the 8:00 to 16:00 option costs $325 per month for K1 through grade 2, and the extended 7:30 to 17:30 option costs $450 per month for K1 through grade 6. Registration and supply fees, which include the yearbook and uniform T-shirts and are nonrefundable: $1,225 for K1-K2, $1,275 for grades 1-3, and $1,435 for grades 4-6. A one-time $300 fee is charged with the application and is nonrefundable. The ParentLocker system carries a $50 annual processing fee. Care past pickup time costs $40 per hour, and an added day, if space allows, costs $200. The sibling discount is 15%, calculated on the lower tuition. Withdrawal requires 60 days’ written notice, with tuition due through the notice period (school website, Willowbrook campus tuition PDF).

Academics and programs described on the Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus website include:

• A multiple intelligences framework: the school website says the curriculum is built around nine intelligences, logical, linguistic, visual, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, and existential, and that the core curriculum “meets or exceeds” California state standards, with teachers free to extend it around student interests (school website, Curriculum page, FAQ)
• Two foreign languages: from the preschool years, children encounter everyday German, Spanish, and other languages in morning and midday circle. From kindergarten through grade 6, dedicated World Language teachers deliver formal German and Spanish instruction using materials imported from Europe, with songs, art, games, conversation, and writing. A Travel Abroad program is also offered (school website, Curriculum, World Languages section)
• Eco-literacy: the five-acre Willowbrook campus sits near the Laguna Park Wilderness Preserve and keeps alpacas, miniature horses, goats, peacocks, and chickens, and has a teaching garden and kitchen, turning sustainability and ecological principles into hands-on lessons (school website, Willowbrook campus page, Curriculum page)
• Mental math in morning circle: the school website says mental math has been part of morning circle since the school was founded in 1968, with children asked to “think in numbers” and carry out a range of calculations in their heads (school website, Curriculum, Mathematics section)
• Theater and readers’ theater run through language arts and into social studies, science, math, physical education, and world languages (school website, Curriculum, Theater Arts section)
• The school website FAQ spells out how the school differs from Montessori and Waldorf: it does not use Montessori materials that point to a single correct answer, favoring open-ended creative play instead, and, unlike Waldorf, students have a different teacher each year so that they encounter a range of teaching styles (school website, Enrollment FAQ)

These are the schools nearest to Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus at the same level, with the basic facts each school publishes. Select a name to open that school’s admissions guide:

School	Grades	Tuition	Entrance test	Distance
Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus	K-6	$18,350	On-campus assessment	—
VanDamme Academy	K-8	$18,000	—	2.4 mi
Aliso Viejo Christian School	K-8	$12,296	On-campus assessment	2.5 mi
St. Mary’s School	K-8	$31,300	ISEE	2.8 mi
The Camino School	K-8	$13,900	On-campus assessment	3.1 mi

Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus tuition for 2026-27 is tiered by grade or program, from $18,350 to $22,900. Over 7 years covering grades K-6, total tuition falls between $128,450 and $160,300, depending on which tier each grade falls in; ask the school for its grade-by-grade tuition table. This uses current-year rates and excludes registration fees, deposits, uniforms and activity fees; the school sets tuition for later years annually.

These are straight-line distances to Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus from neighborhoods where many Irvine families live. Actual drive times will be longer; time the drive once during school hours:

Neighborhood	Straight-line distance
Woodbury	8.2 miles
Northwood	8.8 miles
Turtle Rock	4.8 miles
Portola Springs	8.9 miles

The website does not describe bus service; confirm this during your visit.

When you visit Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus, confirm these points with the admissions office:

• Accreditation — the school website home page, campus pages, curriculum pages, Admissions, and FAQ never mention an accrediting body such as WASC, NIPSA, or CAIS
• Financial aid — the school website tuition PDF and Admissions page list only the 15% sibling discount, with no financial aid or scholarship channel of any kind, whether FACTS, Clarity, or an in-house program
• International students — the school website has no International Students page and no information about I-20s or F-1 status, so this could not be determined
• Average class size — the school website curriculum pages, FAQ, and campus pages do not publish class sizes or a student-teacher ratio
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

EDUBUS counselors in Irvine work in both Chinese and English with families applying to Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus. We track Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus’s admissions calendar, prepare students for the campus visit and interview, and review application materials before they are submitted. Book a school-selection consultation or read the Chinese version of this page.