FAQs

Grace offers a distinctly Christian approach to education. While students and their families are not required to be Christian, they do need to be supportive of our mission: "Grace School, in partnership with church and family, proclaims Jesus Christ in all we do. We will nurture the whole student in an academic environment through a Biblical worldview, providing an opportunity for each one to mature in Christ and to accurately handle the word of truth in a secular world."

To do this, our school requires students to:

1. Be receptive to instruction in and through a Christian worldview as well as desirous of learning more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
2. Be submissive to the policies and procedures set forth by Grace Church and School.
3. Have parents/guardians who support the philosophy and educational process of Grace School, its administration, teachers, and staff.

Grace School does not discriminate based on race, color, national or ethnic origin.

Yes. A College Preparatory school is measured by an examination of two criteria: Culture and Curriculum.

A college preparatory culture is one where the majority of students aspire to attend a four year university upon graduation. The outcome should reflect this desire with between 85% and 95% of graduates being accepted to a four year university. A secondary, but very important feature of a college preparatory culture is the level of co-curricular activities available to students to enhance their college applications.

Specific to California, college preparatory schools will abide by what are called the UC guidelines. These guidelines are set by the University of California and are a list of courses required by a student in order to qualify for acceptance to any UC school (also called the A through G list). Since the UC requirements are amongst the most stringent, the general consensus is that if a school’s graduates meet these criteria, then they will be eligible for application to most other schools, as well.

So, as you can see, there are actually some fairly solid benchmarks to defining a school as college preparatory. And at Grace, we achieve the above.

Grace Graduates Get Accepted To These Colleges

As a private Christian school, we do not receive any federal funding and are not mandated to implement any portion of the Common Core. As a college preparatory school, we view the Common Core standards as a minimum and will continue to offer greater depth, greater rigor, and greater academic sophistication for our students. Most important, we will never implement any curriculum or standards from the Common Core which promote any agenda that is contrary to our beliefs as a Christian school. We believe in the inerrant truth of scripture, and all curricular decisions are sifted through and align with biblical truth.

We encourage all families to tour their campus of interest! You can schedule a tour by calling our Admissions Director, Carissa Wilburn at (805)574-9051 or visit our Campus Visits page.

Additionally, students entering grades 5 through 12 are invited to experience a shadow day at Grace. Visiting students can follow a current student for the day, attending class and experiencing a typical day at Grace firsthand. As a guest, lunch is on us! Contact Carissa Wilburn at cwilburn@gracesimi.com or call (805)574-9051 to request a shadow day.

Finally, each campus hosts several admissions events throughout the year. Visit the Admissions Events page to learn more and RSVP for upcoming events!

Grace does not have an application deadline but may need to close classes if they are full. Applying early is recommended. Applications open in November for the following year.

Yes. We do not offer a paper application.

Yes. Please visit the Applying to Grace page and click on the dropdown for your campus of interest to learn more and view current rates. All application fees are non-refundable

Yes. The interview portion of the application process allows us to get to know your family, understand your educational goals for your student, and helps us in coming to a mutual understanding of whether Grace is the right fit for you.

For students applying to the Preschool or lower Elementary (K-2), at least one parent/guardian must come for an in-person interview with a member of administration. For students applying to upper Elementary (3-6) or the Jr/Sr High, both the student and at least one parent/guardian must come for an in-person interview with a member of administration. If you have multiple students applying to different campuses, a separate interview will be required for each campus. If you have multiple students applying to the same campus, only one interview will be required.

Preschool students do not need to complete any assessments for acceptance.

All Elementary applicants are required to come for assessment as part of the admissions process. Kindergarten applicants will complete a developmental Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, and 1^st-6^th grade applicants will take a language arts and math assessment.

Jr/Sr High applicants may be asked to take either a math or English assessment at the discretion of administration, either during the admission process or after acceptance as part of the class placement process.

Grace School uses waitpools when a grade level has reached its current capacity.  It is common during the school year to see movement in our enrollment numbers, and many students are accepted from waitpools. 

When the waitpool at a particular grade level becomes large enough, Grace will consider adding an additional classroom and teacher to that grade level. Though additional classrooms cannot be guaranteed, we encourage you to still apply if you are interested in an impacted grade, as the size of the waitpool influences our discussions regarding additional classrooms.

To secure a spot in the waitpool, please apply.  If you have any questions regarding the use of wait pools, please contact Carissa Wilburn at 805-574-9051.

Please note, that we utilize a waitpool, rather than a waitlist, thus the order in which you submit is not of significance.  Only qualified applicants are placed in a waitpool.