St. Paul's Lutheran School

Overview

St. Paul’s Lutheran School is a Lutheran K-8 private school in Orange, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1908, with about 342 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $8,600 to $9,600, 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. The school accepts F-1 international students and issues the I-20 needed for a student visa.

Admissions

Entrance exam requirements are not published; contact admissions.

The school publishes the following application details. The key 2026-2027 dates listed on the school website’s Admissions page are these: from December 1, priority registration for families already in the school’s preschool and for members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church; from February 1, registration opens to the community for preschool through grade 8. The school website gives these two dates as December 1, 2026 and February 1, 2027, which does not line up with the 2026-2027 school year, so families should confirm with the admissions office before registering. The Director of Admissions is Lyndsey Logas (admissions@splsorange.org, 714-921-3188).

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

For the 2026-2027 school year, full-day tuition for TK through grade 8 is $9,600; members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church receive $1,000 off per student, for $8,600. Combined rates for multiple children: $18,720 for two, $27,360 for three and $35,520 for four. Half-day TK/K is $7,425. These are the cash rates; credit card payments add 3% (school website, Admissions > Tuition page).

Tuition is paid in 10 installments debited starting July 2026, with January skipped so it does not overlap the re-enrollment registration fee. Paying early earns a discount: $50 off for paying in two installments and $100 off for paying in full. Discounts: Ministry Partners, meaning staff of affiliated churches and organizations, receive 30% off, and church members receive $1,000 off per student; the two cannot be combined and the larger is applied automatically. Sibling discounts apply automatically at 5% off for the second child, 10% for the third and 15% for the fourth and beyond. Students who enroll mid-year are charged tuition prorated by quarter (school website, Tuition page and Financial Aid page).

Financial aid: Need is assessed through FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment, with a $45 application fee; families upload the most recent federal tax return with all schedules and all W-2s. The school also maintains a Tuition Assistance Endowment Fund for longer-term support. Financial aid and every discount are reviewed each year and are not guaranteed to renew; the school website does not publish the share of families receiving aid or the average award (school website, Financial Aid page).

Academics and programs

• The curriculum is organized into three divisions, Primary (TK-2), Elementary (3-5) and Middle School (6-8), alongside Student Support, Technology Integration and Academic Enrichment (school website, Academics page)
• Bible classes use Concordia Publishing House materials together with Luther’s Small Catechism, structured by age (school website, Faith & Learning page)
• The arts include visual art, instrumental music, classroom music and performing arts, with Band, Choir, Theater Arts and Dance/Pom in student life (school website, Arts page and Fast Facts page)
• Athletics offers four interscholastic sports: basketball, flag football, volleyball and track and field (school website, Athletics page)
• There are two international student programs: full-time F-1, SEVP-certified and able to issue I-20s, covering TK-8, and a Short-Term International Student Program with a four-week minimum (school website, International Admissions page)
• The school has a School Counseling Program on campus and will build a WellSpace mental health space with funding from CHOC (school website, Fast Facts 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. Paul’s Lutheran School	Orange	K-8	$8,600	—	—	—
St. Norbert Catholic School	Orange	K-8	$8,847	On-campus assessment	25	1.1 mi
Independence Christian School	Anaheim	K-8	$7,200	—	—	2.8 mi
Covenant Christian School	Orange	K-8	Not published	On-campus assessment	—	1.0 mi
St. John’s Lutheran School	Orange	K-8	$9,410	On-campus assessment	—	3.0 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $8,600, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $77,400 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $91,000. 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	10.8 miles
Northwood	8.4 miles
Turtle Rock	13.6 miles
Portola Springs	11.6 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Entrance testing — neither the Admissions page nor the International Admissions page on the school website mentions an entrance test or a placement assessment
• Chinese program — the pages for each academic division, the Faith & Learning page, the Academic Enrichment page and the Extracurricular Activities page were all checked; After School Spanish appears among extracurricu…
• Average class size — the school website says “small class sizes” only on the International Admissions page, with no specific class size or student-teacher ratio
• Transportation — the school website’s navigation (About, Admissions, Academics, Student Life, Support) has no Transportation page, and the fee list on the Tuition page includes no transportation charge; the Short-Ter…
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

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