Stoneybrooke Christian School

Overview

Stoneybrooke Christian School is a Christian K-8 private school in San Juan Capistrano, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1983, with about 433 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $12,167 to $12,499, 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 K-8 application process (school website, Admissions page): submit the application form provided by the admissions office online; complete a one-on-one interview with an administrator; read and sign the school’s Doctrinal Statement and Parental Agreement; pay the non-refundable registration fee; and submit a birth certificate, immunization records and a recent photo of the parent, used for identification only, with transfer students also submitting recent report cards or a transcript. The school website says “Student assessment testing may be necessary”, meaning academic assessment is arranged as the case requires. Kindergarten students must turn 5 before September 1 and must also submit the CA Report of Health Examination for School Entry, a Health History Report and the results of the Chancy and Bruce early development readiness screening; that screening is usually given at preschools in January and February, and the school’s own screening day is generally held in late March or early April, though an appointment can also be made directly with Chancy and Bruce. Early Education places are first come, first served, and new families must interview and tour.

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

Tuition for the 2026-27 school year (school website, Fee Schedule PDF, headed “Financial Information as of January 2026”): $12,167 for the first child in grades K-6 and $12,499 for the first child in grades 7-8, with an additional $100 technology fee in grades 7-8. The multi-child discount steps down child by child: 10% off the second child ($10,950 for K-6 and $11,249 for grades 7-8), 15% off the third ($10,342 for K-6) and 20% off the fourth ($9,734 for K-6). Tuition is billed annually and may be paid in 10 installments from August through May or 11 installments from August through June. The school does not have separate church-member and non-member rates. The preschool is priced separately: for 3- and 4-year-olds, $903 a month for five days a week, available only to 4-year-olds, $532 for three days and $401 for two days; Junior Kindergarten is $9,031 per child

New student registration fees: $500 for JK through grade 8 and $150 for Early Education, ages 3-4, both non-refundable and paid once a place is available; the waitlist fee is $100 and non-refundable, and if no place has opened by the first week of school, the application and waitlist fees carry over to the following school year. Returning families pay a re-enrollment fee of $330 per child. The technology fee in grades 7-8 is $100. Once tuition and fees are paid, they are not refunded if a student withdraws during the year. For K-8, care from 7:30 to 7:45 a.m. is free; late-start mornings from 7:30 to 8:45 and after school from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., or 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Fridays, are charged at $10 an hour, with any part of an hour billed as a full hour. The preschool has its own Early Care, Lunch Bunch and Extended Care, charged per use. Grades 3-8 have an overnight spring trip and grade 2 a day trip, billed separately through the FACTS account or collected by the tour operator. Installment payments more than 10 days late incur a 5% late fee

Academics and programs

• Beyond the regular core subjects, the K-6 elementary school offers enrichment classes: art, music, technology, science lab, library skills, Spanish and physical education (school website, Academics page)
• The 7-8 middle school runs seven periods a day of about 45 minutes each; electives typically include Spanish I, literature, art, drama, music appreciation, technology, yearbook and debate/current events, and vary slightly from year to year (school website, Academics page, Admissions > FAQs)
• Math is the only subject leveled in middle school: the school website states that most students take Pre-Algebra in grade 7 and Algebra 1 in grade 8, while stronger students may take Algebra 1 in grade 7 and Geometry in grade 8 (school website, Admissions > FAQs)
• The middle school technology room is 1:1 and equipped with a 3D printer, Lego Mindstorm robotics kits and green-screen multimedia production equipment; students bring their own iPads (school website, Academics page)
• There is a fixed half-hour Bible class every day, students are required to memorize scripture, and there is one chapel a week (school website, Admissions > FAQs)
• Students compete in ACSI academic competitions, and after-school activities include a speech meet, a spelling bee, Math Olympics, student council and praise band (school website, Student Life page, Admissions > FAQs)

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
Stoneybrooke Christian School	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$12,167	On-campus assessment	—	—
Mission Basilica School	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$12,700	On-campus assessment	—	2.6 mi
Aliso Viejo Christian School	Aliso Viejo	K-8	$12,296	On-campus assessment	22	3.4 mi
VanDamme Academy	Aliso Viejo	K-8	$18,000	—	—	3.6 mi
St. Edward the Confessor Parish School	Dana Point	K-8	$11,570	On-campus assessment	—	4.9 mi

Where students go next

The FAQ page on the school website carries the question “Where do most of your students attend high school when they graduate from the 8th grade?” and answers “Former students can be found in every public and most private high schools in the area. Stoneybrooke does not recommend one high school over another.” Graduates are spread across the area’s public high schools and most of its private ones, and the school does not recommend any one school over another; the school website lists no specific school names or numbers.

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 $12,167, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $109,503 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $129,000. 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	11.7 miles
Northwood	14.1 miles
Turtle Rock	10.5 miles
Portola Springs	12.0 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Financial aid — the Admissions and General Information pages and the Fee Schedule PDF on the school website make no mention of need-based aid or any scholarship channel, listing only the stepped multi-child discount
• Average class size — the FAQ on the school website says only that the school “strives to limit class size to a maximum of 24 students”, which is a ceiling rather than an average
• F-1 students — the Admissions, FAQ and General Information pages on the school website make no mention of international students, I-20s or SEVP, so this cannot be determined
• Transportation — the navigation on the school website (Who We Are / Academics / Student Life / Admissions / Downloads) has no Transportation page, and the Fee Schedule PDF linked from the Admissions page carries no t…
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Stoneybrooke Christian 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.