Hephatha Lutheran School

Overview

Hephatha Lutheran School is a Lutheran K-8 private school in Anaheim, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1983, with about 184 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $7,988 to $9,390, which puts it in the lower range among Orange County private schools at this level. Religion classes are required, so confirm your family is comfortable with that before applying. The school accepts F-1 international students and issues the I-20 needed for a student visa.

Admissions

No standardized entrance exam; admission uses an on-campus assessment or visit day.

The school publishes the following application details. Process for grades K through 8: inquire and schedule a tour, meet the future homeroom teacher and the principal during the visit, spend a Shadow Day in class and take a short academic assessment to determine the academic starting point, then submit the application and supporting documents. The early childhood process differs slightly: families meet the director during the visit, and the application requires a registration form and a recommendation form from the previous school; after admission, the registration fee and first tuition payment are made through FACTS and documents are submitted through EnrollMe. The admissions director is Deena Knudsen, (714) 637-0887 ext. 126. The school website notes that admissions events for the 2026-2027 school year have ended but that individual tours can still be scheduled.

The main entry points at a K-8 school are kindergarten and grade 6. Younger applicants are usually evaluated through an on-campus visit, while most applicants above grade 5 need an ISEE score. Start in the fall of the year before entry: visit first to confirm the school is a fit, then decide whether to register for testing.

Tuition and fees

For grades K through 8 in 2026-2027 (tuition PDF on the school website): for one student paying annually, the Church Member rate is $7,988 and the Community Member rate is $9,390. Paying monthly is $815 x 10 payments for members and $958 x 10 payments for community families; paying semiannually is $3,994 x 2 for members and $4,695 x 2 for community families. Rates for multiple children are tiered: at the community rate, two children paying annually are $17,846, three are $26,304 and four are $34,762; at the member rate, two children are $15,182, three are $22,374 and four are $29,568. Continuing students moving into grades 7 and 8 have a lower schedule: at the community rate, $8,938 a year for the first child and $8,046 for each child after that; at the member rate, $7,606 for the first child and $6,852 for each child after that.

The registration fee is $475 and the FACTS processing fee is $50. Incidental fees: new student earthquake fund $25, grade 2-8 Bible $15, K-3 Hangaroo $20, grade 8 graduation fee $150, grade 5-8 PE uniform $20 per piece, grade 1-8 transportation fee $40. International students (I-20) are priced separately: tuition of $12,300 for the full year, a nonrefundable international application fee of $250 that is not refunded even if the student is not admitted, and a registration fee of $500 after admission; tuition includes classroom fees, two PE uniforms for grades 5-8 and one ELL class a week. There is also a summer camp (registration $195, $460 per person per week) and a winter camp (registration $375, $988 per person per month). The early childhood division has its own set of rates by time of day and number of days.

Financial aid: The Tuition Information page on the school website states that tuition assistance is available only for grades K through 8 and that families should contact the school (“TUITION ASSISTANCE IS OFFERED TO K–8TH ONLY… INQUIRE WITHIN”), without publishing how to apply, the amounts or a deadline. According to the international student information on the school website, US regulations mean that no financial aid of any kind is offered to international students holding F-1 visas.

Academics and programs

• K-8 is divided into three bands, K-2, 3-5 and middle school 6-8; grades K-3 have teaching assistants, and there is a full-time resource teacher (school website, home page)
• There is a STEAM lab on campus, and STEAM, theology and the arts run through every subject; each classroom is 900 square feet with a Smartboard and flexible seating, and class size is capped at 25 (school website, home page)
• Music is led by a dedicated music director and includes band, strings, choir and piano, with strings available from K-2 and private lessons offered (school website, home page)
• Athletics on campus are intramural, with flag football, basketball, volleyball and track and field (school website, home page)
• A K-8 Hybrid Homeschool Program in which parents teach some subjects at home using curricula of their own choosing (school website, Tuition Information page)
• International student program: full-year study on an I-20, plus short-term placement through a summer camp, recommended for grades 3-6, and a winter camp, recommended for grades 3-8 (school website, international program PDF)

How this school compares

These are the nearest schools at the same level and a comparable price. Select a name to open that school’s admissions guide:

School	City	Grades	Tuition	Entrance test	Class size	Distance
Hephatha Lutheran School	Anaheim	K-8	$7,988	On-campus assessment	—	—
Independence Christian School	Anaheim	K-8	$7,200	—	—	1.6 mi
St. Francis of Assisi School	Yorba Linda	K-8	$9,345	On-campus assessment	—	3.0 mi
Calvary Chapel Yorba Linda Christian Academy	Yorba Linda	K-8	$10,400	—	12	2.8 mi
St. Paul’s Lutheran School	Orange	K-8	$8,600	—	—	3.8 mi

Where students go next

The About Us > Affiliate High Schools page on the school website, titled “Where do Hephatha students go to high school?”, lists the high schools graduates have been admitted to: Crean Lutheran High School (Irvine), Orange Lutheran High School (Orange), JSerra Catholic High School, Orange County School of the Arts, the public high schools of Orange Unified School District, Rosary Academy (girls), Servite High School (boys) and Troy Tech High School. The same page states that the school maintains long-standing articulation relationships with Crean Lutheran and Orange Lutheran and that graduates often go into Honors, AP and IB courses once in high school. The school website does not publish the number admitted to each school or the years (school website, Affiliate High Schools page).

Schools in our guide library that appear on this list: JSerra Catholic High School, Crean Lutheran High School, Servite High School, Rosary Academy.

Applying to high school from here usually begins in the spring of grade 7: sit the ISEE or HSPT in the fall of grade 8, then submit materials between November and January. EDUBUS works backward from each target high school’s requirements to plan grades, activities and test preparation across the K-8 years.

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $7,988, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $71,892 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $85,000. Neither number includes registration fees, deposits, uniforms or activity fees. A California 529 plan can cover up to $10,000 per child per year of K-12 tuition.

Getting there from Irvine

These are straight-line distances from neighborhoods where many Irvine families live. Actual drive times will be longer, and a morning rush-hour trip typically takes 1.5 to 2 times as long as an off-peak one:

Neighborhood	Straight-line distance
Woodbury	10.8 miles
Northwood	9.3 miles
Turtle Rock	15.1 miles
Portola Springs	10.8 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• chineseProgram — the home page and course descriptions on the school website list no world language courses (the ELL in the international student program is English language support, not a world language), so the fie…
• avgClassSize — the school website gives only a class size cap of 25 and a 1:12 ratio for early childhood, with no average class size, so the field is recorded as null
• aid — the Tuition Information page on the school website says only that tuition assistance is offered for K-8 and that families should inquire, without publishing how to apply, the amounts or a deadline
• enrollment — the school website does not publish an enrollment count, so the California Department of Education filing figure of 184 is used
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Hephatha Lutheran School’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.