St. Edward the Confessor Parish School

Overview

St. Edward the Confessor Parish School is a Catholic K-8 private school in Dana Point, California, serving grades K-8, with about 690 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $11,570 to $14,045, 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. Applications for the 2026-27 school year are open. The online application carries an $80 application fee and requires a birth certificate, immunization records and, where applicable, baptismal and sacramental certificates; applicants to grades 1-8 also submit the last two years of report cards and standardized test scores. Applicants to grades 1-8 take STAR reading and math assessments to establish a starting point, and grades 6-8 take an additional math placement test that determines whether they enter the accelerated track; readiness screening for TYKE and kindergarten is scheduled for January 14-15, at a cost of $79. Applicants to grades 1-8 interview with the Assistant Principal for their division, and students who have submitted an application may request a shadow day (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

Tuition for the 2026-27 school year comes in a Catholic family rate and a non-Catholic family rate: for TYKE through grade 5, $11,570 for Catholic families and $13,270 for non-Catholic families; for grades 6 through 8, $12,345 and $14,045, a difference of $1,700 at each grade level. Preschool is priced in six tiers by days attended: two days AM $4,230/$4,925, two days full day $5,765/$6,460, three days AM $5,650/$6,650, three days full day $7,590/$8,590, five days AM $9,605/$11,285 and five days full day $11,715/$13,395, with the Catholic family rate first and the non-Catholic family rate second. To qualify for the Catholic family rate, the school website states that a family must be actively practicing Catholic: a Catholic baptismal certificate for each enrolled child must be on file at the school, which is required only once, or the student must be actively registered in the Faith Formation program; the family must also hold a verifiable registration at a local Catholic parish. Eligibility must be met before the first tuition payment of that school year, and qualifying later in the year does not change the rate retroactively. Each child after the first receives a $900 reduction, and active-duty military families receive $500 per family (school website, 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees page).

There is also a non-refundable registration fee: $730 per child for preschool through TYKE, $785 per child for K through grade 7 and $1,035 per child for grade 8, which includes graduation costs; the application fee is $80. Payments go through FACTS: paying in full or in two payments each carries a $25 fee, and 10- or 11-month payment plans carry $55. Families with children in TYKE through grade 8, and families in the five-day preschool, must complete 25 volunteer hours, which can be bought out in full for $1,500 or in part at $60 an hour; families with preschool children only are assessed by days, at 5 hours or $300 for the two-day program, 15 hours or $900 for the three-day program and 25 hours or $1,500 for the five-day program. The yearbook is an optional purchase, and overnight, long-distance (Sacramento) and multi-day field study costs are billed separately (school website, 2026-2027 Tuition & Fees page).

Financial aid: Financial aid runs through FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment (factstuitionaid.com). The Admissions > Financial Assistance page on the school website states that aid applications for the 2026-2027 school year open February 1, 2026 and must be completed by March 20, 2026; that aid covers tuition only and not registration fees; and that it is available only to students in TYKE through grade 8, not preschool. An application is considered only once the admission application has been submitted, the student has been accepted, all outstanding balances are cleared and the registration fee has been paid. The school website does not publish the share of families receiving aid or the average award (school website, Financial Assistance page).

Academics and programs

• A STREAM curriculum: science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and mathematics (school website, Academics page)
• Academic Decathlon and Mock Trial teams (school website, Academics page)
• The Battle of the Books reading competition (school website, Academics page)
• A Learning Support Program providing academic support and on-campus tutoring, with a school counselor on staff (school website, Academics page)
• Spanish taught by specialists across all of K-8, with three dedicated Spanish teachers covering different grade bands (school website, Staff Directory)

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. Edward the Confessor Parish School	Dana Point	K-8	$11,570	On-campus assessment	—	—
Mission Basilica School	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$12,700	On-campus assessment	—	2.7 mi
St. Anne Catholic School	Laguna Niguel	K-8	$19,400	On-campus assessment	—	1.7 mi
Stoneybrooke Christian School	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$12,167	On-campus assessment	—	4.9 mi
Our Lady of Fatima Academy	San Clemente	K-8	$11,380	On-campus assessment	—	5.5 mi

Where students go next

The Benefits of Attending St. Edward Parish School page on the school website says graduates go on to high schools including Dana Hills, JSerra, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita Catholic (SMCHS), in the words “Dana Hills. JSerra. Mater Dei. SMCHS. The best high schools welcome her.” The page gives no numbers or years for any school (school website, Benefits of Attending page).

Schools in our guide library that appear on this list: Mater Dei High School, Santa Margarita Catholic High School.

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 $11,570, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $104,130 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $122,000. 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	16.1 miles
Northwood	18.0 miles
Turtle Rock	13.4 miles
Portola Springs	16.7 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Founding year — the About Our School page on the school website says 1981 and the Principal’s Message page says 1983; the two conflict, and neither is used
• Enrollment — the home page, About Our School, Principal’s Message and Academics pages were all checked and none publishes an enrollment count, so the CDE filing figure of 690 is used
• Average class size — the school website says only that there are 3 classes per grade in K-8, and gives no class size or student-teacher ratio
• Financial aid — the Tuition & Fees page lists only the FACTS payment plan fees and carries no Grant & Aid description, and no separate Financial Aid page was found
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track St. Edward the Confessor 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.