Minaret Academy

Overview

Minaret Academy is an Islamic K-8 private school in Anaheim, California, serving grades K-8, with about 154 students. The school does not publish tuition; ask for current figures when you book a visit. Religion classes are required, so confirm your family is comfortable with that before applying.

Admissions

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

The school publishes the following application details. The Admission Process page on the school website describes admission as highly selective. The process: complete the New Student Prospective Form or contact the school office directly to ask about openings and schedule a visit; submit a preliminary application in the Gradelink system and pay the nonrefundable application fee ($600 for Montessori, $500 for grades 1-8, which includes the entrance exam fee); the school then contacts the family to schedule an interview with the principal and the entrance exam, which is required for grades 1-8; submit transcripts and conduct records from the previous school; after the file is reviewed, parents are notified of the decision directly. The parent handbook adds that returning students and their siblings have priority registration in the first quarter of each year, with registration opening to new families a month later, and that once spaces are full applicants go on a waitlist. The school website currently indicates that new student admission is open for all grades PS-8.

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

The Tuition & Fees page on the school website is titled “Tuition & Annual Fees 2026-2027” and lists these amounts: Montessori (Preschool / Pre-K / Kindergarten) full day $1,100 and half day $850; Elementary grades 1-5 $1,000; Middle School grades 6-8 $1,000. Note that these are monthly amounts, even though the page title says “Annual Fees” — the school’s parent handbook states that the academic year is 10 months and that tuition is paid in advance for the following month by the 1st of each month, with a $50 late fee after the 10th. The school website itself gives no annual total, so this site does not calculate one; before applying, ask the school office directly for the complete annual fee schedule. (School website, Tuition & Fees and Admission Process pages; school website Parent Handbook PDF)

Application fee, which includes the entrance exam: $600 for Montessori and $500 for grades 1-8, both nonrefundable (school website, Admission Process page, 2026-27). Payment may be made in full, in two installments, or in 10 monthly installments, the three plans listed in the parent handbook. Tuition does not include after-school care: morning care 7:00-7:45, Montessori afternoon extended care 15:15-18:00 and the homework help class 15:45-17:15 are all charged separately. The school website does not list tuition for international students.

Academics and programs

• Islamic Studies: three times a week for 40 minutes each in grades 1-8, covering the fundamentals of faith and worship, stories of the prophets, leadership and charity, and morals and ethics (school website, Arabic, Islamic Studies, Quran page)
• Qur’an: four days a week for 40 minutes each, focused on recitation and pronunciation (tajweed) (school website, Arabic, Islamic Studies, Quran page)
• Arabic: the school website states that the school was an early adopter of methods for teaching Arabic as a foreign language, and that native and non-native speakers are taught separately (school website, Arabic, Islamic Studies, Quran page)
• Montessori early childhood division (Preschool / Pre-K / Kindergarten), licensed by the California Department of Social Services and able to enroll children ages 2-6 (school website, Programs page; parent handbook)
• After-school programs: morning care 7:00-7:45, Montessori afternoon extended care until 18:00, and a homework help class 15:45-17:15 (school website, School Hours page)
• Daily schedule: Montessori runs 8:00-15:00, and grades 1-5 and 6-8 run 8:00-15:30 (school website, School Hours page)

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
Minaret Academy	Anaheim	K-8	Not published	On-campus assessment	—	—
IvyCrest Montessori Private School — Fullerton Campus	Fullerton	K-6	Not published	—	—	1.6 mi
Zion Lutheran School	Anaheim	K-8	$6,430	On-campus assessment	15	1.1 mi
Covenant Christian School	Orange	K-8	Not published	On-campus assessment	—	3.1 mi
Arborland Montessori Children’s Academy — Valencia Dr. Campus	Fullerton	K-6	Not published	—	—	4.1 mi

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	13.4 miles
Northwood	10.8 miles
Turtle Rock	15.5 miles
Portola Springs	14.5 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• tuitionLow / tuitionHigh — the Tuition & Fees page and the Admission Process page on the school website give monthly rates only ($1,100 / $850 / $1,000) and no annual total at all; although the page is titled “Tuition & Annual…
• Uniform policy, re-checked 2026-09-08 — the Uniform Policy page on the school website currently contains only two lines, “Uniforms are required for Pre-School - 8th grade Students” and “*The uniform policy is pending,” and explains that th…
• opened — the About page, the Mission & Vision page and the parent handbook give no founding year. The date shown on the CDE filing page, November 10, 2008, is the effective date of the filing record and canno…
• enrollment — the school website does not publish an enrollment count, so the CDE filing figure of 154 has to be used; the CDE page does not indicate which school year it corresponds to
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Minaret Academy’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.