St. Joseph Catholic School

Overview

St. Joseph Catholic School is a Catholic K-8 private school in Placentia, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1959, with about 177 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $8,495, 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. Average class size is about 20.

Admissions

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

The school publishes the following application details. The school website’s FAQ page states that applications open each January for the following school year: families first submit a New Student Application online, and formal registration follows the school’s review. An entrance assessment is required: TK, kindergarten and grade 1 applicants take a readiness screening, and applicants in grade 2 and above take formal math and English language arts (ELA) assessments, the results of which are used for admission and placement. Required documents include a birth certificate, immunization records, a baptismal certificate for Catholic applicants, a physical exam report for K and grade 1, the most recent transcripts for grades 2 through 8, standardized test scores for grades 3 through 8, and proof of the Tdap vaccine for grades 7 and 8. Age requirements: TK applicants must turn 4 by September 1 and be able to use the toilet independently, kindergarten applicants must be 5, and grade 1 applicants must be 6.

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

Annual TK-8 tuition for the 2026-27 school year: $8,495 for one child, $16,490 for two children ($500 off for multiple children) and $24,485 for three children ($1,000 off). The school does not have separate parishioner and non-parishioner rates, and TK-8 is one single rate. There are four payment options: paying in full before June 20, 2026 earns a 3% discount (one child then pays $8,241), 12 monthly installments of $708, 24 biweekly payments of $354, and other installment plans; all are drafted through FACTS Tuition Management. Preschool has its own separate rate sheet (school website, 2026-2027 Financial Agreement, posted on the Tuition and Fees page).

Nonrefundable registration fee of $585 per student; technology fee of $99 (grades 2 through 8). The fundraising and service obligations can be bought out: fundraising is $575 for 1 student, $675 for 2 students and $750 for 3 or more; the SCRIP buyout is $400; the service hours buyout is $525. Other costs include a Chromebook (purchased by the family in grade 6 and by students new to the middle school), graduation fees, performance fees, uniforms, the yearbook ($40) and grade 6 science camp. The school website does not list an international student rate.

Financial aid: The school website’s Enrollment page states that “No child will be deprived of a Catholic education at St. Joseph Catholic School for financial reasons alone”, while asking parents to meet with the school and show good faith; both tuition and financial aid are handled through the FACTS system. The school website does not publish the share of students receiving aid, the range of awards or an application deadline (school website, Enrollment page and Tuition and Fees page).

Academics and programs

• STEM Lab: a dedicated lab opened in 2023, with middle school classes taught by a STEM teacher and a technology coordinator, plus a separate Elementary STEM program (school website, School History page and Faculty and Staff page)
• Performing Arts program: established in 2014 and directed by the assistant principal, it has grown into one of the school’s signature programs (school website, School History page and Faculty and Staff page)
• Learning support: two dedicated teachers, an ELA/Learning Support Coordinator and a Math Learning Support teacher (school website, Faculty and Staff page)
• Blended Learning and the Accelerated Reader program (school website, Blended Learning page and Accelerated Reader page)
• Renaissance STAR assessments: English and math are assessed three times each school year, and the results are used to adjust instruction (school website, FAQ page)
• Art and social-emotional learning (SEL) are taught by the same dedicated teacher; there is also TK-8 physical education and interscholastic athletics (school website, Faculty and Staff page and Athletics 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. Joseph Catholic School	Placentia	K-8	$8,495	On-campus assessment	20	—
Heights Christian Schools - Brea Campus	Brea	K-4	$11,069	On-campus assessment	—	2.7 mi
St. Paul’s Lutheran School	Orange	K-8	$8,600	—	—	3.6 mi
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	3.3 mi

Where students go next

The school website’s FAQ page lists the diocesan Catholic high schools that graduates mainly attend: Servite (boys, Anaheim), Rosary (girls, Fullerton), Mater Dei (Santa Ana), Cristo Rey (Santa Ana), Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) and JSerra (San Juan Capistrano), without numbers or percentages.

Schools in our guide library that appear on this list: Mater Dei 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 $8,495, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $76,455 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $90,000. 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	14.3 miles
Northwood	12.0 miles
Turtle Rock	17.1 miles
Portola Springs	15.0 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• The tuition figures come from the “2026-2027 Financial Agreement” table published as an image on the school website’s Tuition and Fees page (the image address is listed in the sources); the body of t…
• Enrollment uses the CDE filing — no page on the school website publishes enrollment
• F-1 students — the Enrollment, FAQ and Tuition and Fees pages on the school website make no mention of international students or the I-20
• Transportation — the school website’s FAQ page describes only the car line and the walk-in procedure, with no information about a school bus or shuttle, and the school website makes no positive statement that no bus …
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track St. Joseph Catholic 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.