St. John's Lutheran School

Overview

St. John’s Lutheran School is a Lutheran K-8 private school in Orange, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1882, with about 849 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $9,410 to $10,370, which puts it in the middle range among Orange County private schools at this level. 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 main entry points are kindergarten and TK, though students also commonly join in the middle school grades. The director of admissions is Jodi Holte. The process is to attend an open house or schedule a tour first, then submit an application. The Admissions page on the school website lists these open houses for the 2026-27 school year: a kindergarten First Look on November 4, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. for parents and children; a kindergarten parent information meeting on January 6, 2027; a TK-8 open house on January 13 at 10:30 a.m.; a middle school open house on January 21 at 6:30 p.m.; and further TK-8 open houses on February 17, March 17 and April 21. None of them requires a reservation. Preschool tours are held January 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2027. Preschool applications for the 2027-28 school year are accepted beginning at 8:00 a.m. on February 5, 2027. New students must complete a Kindergarten Readiness Screening ($79). The school website does not publish a single application deadline for TK-8 (school website, Admissions page, Financial Information PDF).

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

$9,410 for members of St. John’s church and $10,370 for non-members, per year (2026-27, TK-8, paid-in-full rate for one child; two children $18,180 and $20,740 respectively; semiannual and monthly plans cost slightly more; preschool $9,210-$12,900; school website, 2026-27 fee schedule)

2026-2027 fees (school website, Financial Information PDF): an annual re-registration fee of $475 per student for grades K-8, due in February and nonrefundable; a new student registration fee of $500 per student for TK-8, nonrefundable; a Kindergarten Readiness Screening at $79; and an earthquake kit at $25. The technology fee and the yearbook are included in tuition. Grades 4-8 have a Special Program Fee for 2026-2027 whose amount is still to be determined, and Core Prep Academy is listed separately at $10,000. Payments are made through FACTS (Nelnet): the annual payment is due by July 2, the semiannual payments by July 7 and the following January 7, and the monthly plan runs 10 installments from July 2026 through May 2027. A late annual or semiannual payment adds $35, a returned EFT on the monthly plan adds $25, and two consecutive returned payments end the installment plan. Overnight trips are charged separately by grade: about $800 for grade 4 in Sacramento, about $185 for grade 5 at Riley’s Farm, about $350 for grade 6 at Palomar and about $700 for grade 7 at Catalina. Preschool has its own separate rate sheet, including $9,840-$12,900 for the 2-year-old class.

Financial aid: Need-based tuition assistance is offered, and there are no merit scholarships. A Ministry Partner discount is also available: full-time employees of Concordia University Irvine (CUI), Crean Lutheran, Orange Lutheran and other LCMS congregations receive 30% off tuition for each child (school website, 2026-2027 Financial Information PDF). The school website does not publish the application channel, deadline, number of awards or dollar amounts for need-based assistance.

Academics and programs

• One iPad per student, coding at every grade level, a STEM Lab, and what the school website calls the only STEAM Corridor in Orange County; that claim of being the only one comes from the school itself and has not been independently verified (school website home page, Top 10 Reasons section)
• World language: Global Language - Spanish. The elementary and middle school pages list Spanish as the only language course, with no Chinese (school website, Elementary School page, Middle School page)
• Daily religion class and Chapel, with Chapel Partners pairing older and younger students, plus Life Groups in the middle school (middle-school page)
• Pathways to Learning, a support program for special learning needs in grades K-8, using Accommodation Success Plans
• Overnight trips by grade: Sacramento for grade 4 (about $800), Riley’s Farm for grade 5 (about $185), Palomar for grade 6 (about $350), Catalina for grade 7 (about $700), and Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg for grade 8 (elementary and middle-school pages)
• Middle school electives, National Junior Honor Society, student leadership and competitive athletics (middle-school 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. John’s Lutheran School	Orange	K-8	$9,410	On-campus assessment	—	—
Holy Family Catholic School	Orange	K-8	$9,365	On-campus assessment	—	0.6 mi
St. Norbert Catholic School	Orange	K-8	$8,847	On-campus assessment	25	1.9 mi
Christ Cathedral Academy	Garden Grove	K-8	$9,900	On-campus assessment	—	3.0 mi
St. Paul’s Lutheran School	Orange	K-8	$8,600	—	—	3.0 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $9,410, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $84,690 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $100,000. 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	8.6 miles
Northwood	5.8 miles
Turtle Rock	10.7 miles
Portola Springs	10.0 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Whether religion classes and chapel are required, and how many families are not members of the faith
• Whether the ISEE is required above grade 5, and roughly where the score bar sits
• How many mid-year openings come up in a typical year, and how the waitlist works
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track St. John’s 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.