St. Irenaeus Parish School

Overview

St. Irenaeus Parish School is a Catholic K-8 private school in Cypress, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1963, with about 321 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $7,325 to $7,825, 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.

Admissions

Entrance exam requirements are not published; contact admissions.

The school publishes the following application details. Application materials for the 2026-27 school year are open and are submitted through the online RenWeb system (the ENROLL NOW link on the school website), and the school admits students on a rolling basis as space allows in each grade. Families must submit an application for admission, immunization records, and records from the previous school obtained through a transcript request form. Individual campus tours can be scheduled by calling (714) 827-4500 or emailing the admissions office. The school website’s Admissions page does not publish an application deadline, any entrance testing arrangements, or an admission priority order (school website, Admissions page).

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

Base full-day tuition for TK through grade 8: $7,825 a year for one child and $14,275 a year for two children, both payable in 10 or 11 monthly installments. For parishioner families registered at St. Irenaeus parish who give regularly, the school website reads “$500/family reduction” - that is $500 off per family per year, not per student, so a parishioner family with one child pays $7,325 and a parishioner family with two children pays $13,775. The school website notes that rates may be adjusted, and the details of the parish discount are in the school’s school finance agreement (school website, Tuition & Fees page).

A $60 registration fee and a $300 enrollment deposit per student in TK-8; grade 8 also pays an $85 graduation fee. The school website states that, unless otherwise noted, all fees are charged per student and are nonrefundable (school website, Tuition & Fees page).

Financial aid: Applications are made through the FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment Program. The school website’s Admissions > Tuition Assistance page states that FACTS conducts a confidential, independent assessment of financial need, that applications must be submitted online, and that the application fee is $40 (the school website notes this may change); financial aid applications for the following school year open in early December each year; a student’s application for admission must be completed before applying for aid, and aid is awarded only to enrolled students or to new students who have completed the admission process; Transitional Kindergarten is not eligible for financial aid. Applicants may also write to the Grant and Aid Committee with additional information. Infographics on the school website’s home page state that 18% of students receive financial aid, but no range of awards or deadline is published (school website, Tuition Assistance page and home page).

Academics and programs

• A grade-band curriculum framework: three different sets of Schoolwide Learning Expectations for TK-1, grades 2-3 and grades 4-8 (school website, Academics page)
• Grade-level Religion Curriculum and Stewardship Curriculum, paired with prayer, class retreats and liturgical celebrations, with students serving at the school, in the parish and in the community (school website, Faith Development page)
• The national Catholic schools Academic Junior High Decathlon (AJHD) for grades 6-8: 10 events in all, including two team events, the Logic Quiz and the Super Quiz (school website, Extra-Curricular and Enrichment Activities page)
• The Coder School six-week after-school coding class (grades 2-8) (school website, Extra-Curricular and Enrichment Activities page)
• Instrumental music (grades 3-8): flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, drums and violin; there is also a parish youth choir (grades 4-8) that sings in the church once a month (school website, Extra-Curricular and Enrichment Activities page)
• Altar serving (grades 4-8), the grade 8 yearbook club, and the Junior Legion of Mary (ages 7 and up) (school website, Extra-Curricular and Enrichment Activities 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
St. Irenaeus Parish School	Cypress	K-8	$7,325	—	—	—
Grace Christian School	Cypress	K-8	$7,525	—	—	1.2 mi
St. Hedwig Catholic School	Los Alamitos	K-8	$8,460	On-campus assessment	—	2.8 mi
St. Pius V Catholic School	Buena Park	K-8	$7,575	—	—	3.2 mi
Bethany Christian Academy	Westminster	K-8	$8,275	On-campus assessment	—	4.6 mi

Where students go next

Two different things need to be distinguished here. (1) Where grade 8 graduates go to high school: the school website gives only two figures, in the infographics on the home page - “100% of students accepted into catholic high school” and “1/4 Received scholarships for high school” - and publishes no list of specific high schools. (2) Colleges alumni later attended: the school website’s About Us > School History page says “Our graduates go on to colleges such as” and lists Notre Dame, West Point, Brown University, Gonzaga University, UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount University, Harvey Mudd College, University of San Diego, University of Washington, Chapman University, CSU Long Beach and CSU Fullerton, “and many more” - this is a list of colleges attended by alumni over the years, not the immediate destination of grade 8 graduates, and parents should not read it as a matriculation rate (school website, School History page and home page).

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 $7,325, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $65,925 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $78,000. 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	19.4 miles
Northwood	16.4 miles
Turtle Rock	18.8 miles
Portola Springs	21.2 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Chinese program — the Academics page, the Grade Level Curriculum pages for every grade from TK up, the Physical Education page, the Art & Music page and the Staff Directory were all checked, and none lists any world l…
• Entrance exam — neither the Admissions page nor the Tuition & Fees page mentions an entrance test or assessment
• Average class size — the school website’s Academics page and School History page give no class size or student-teacher ratio (only 321 students and 30 educators school-wide)
• Tuition year — these rates are treated as 2026-27 because the Admissions page states that materials for the 2026-27 school year are open; the Tuition & Fees page itself carries no school year label and notes that r…
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track St. Irenaeus Parish 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.