Essential guidance for Verano student families and international scholars: school enrollment pathways in the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD), step-by-step registration for newcomers, after-school care (including UCI Extended Day), and year-round summer camps.
Assigned neighborhood public schools based on your residential address in Verano Place (92617).
Kindergarten – 6th Grade
The primary assigned IUSD elementary school for children living in Verano Place. Consistently ranked among the top public elementary schools in California with dedicated STEM programs, music, and an on-site licensed child care facility.
7th Grade – 8th Grade
The designated feeder middle school for Verano students moving from Turtle Rock. Features robust electives, competitive robotics, instrumental music, and comprehensive English language development for international students.
9th Grade – 12th Grade
Located directly across from UC Irvine campus and adjacent to Verano Place. Nationally acclaimed for academic excellence, AP courses, speech & debate, athletics, and close research ties with UCI faculty and laboratories.
While Turtle Rock Elementary is the neighborhood default, the Irvine Unified School District may occasionally assign Verano students to other locations under specific circumstances:
Specialized host center for international students requiring intensive English as a Second Language (ELD) instruction before transitioning to home schools.
Located just across Culver Drive. Occasionally used when Turtle Rock grade classrooms reach statutory class-size capacity.
IUSD open-lottery magnet school operating on a modified year-round calendar (9-week sessions with 3-week intersession breaks). Any Irvine resident may enter the annual lottery.
How international families with F-1, J-1, or other visas successfully enroll in Irvine Public Schools.
Begin by completing the digital pre-enrollment application on the IUSD enrollment portal. Select your home language, enter your child’s details, and choose your anticipated entry date.
Important for Verano Residents: You do NOT have individual electric or water bills because all utilities are included in Verano rent. IUSD officially accepts your signed UCI Student Housing Lease Agreement or a Housing Verification Letter showing your name and Verano apartment address. You can download this directly from the UCI Housing Portal.
Provide a certified original birth certificate or your child’s foreign passport. If the document is not in English, bring a certified English translation if available.
California law requires all schoolchildren to be immunized against Polio, DTaP, MMR, Hepatitis B, and Varicella (chickenpox).
⚠️ Children entering from outside the United States must receive a Mantoux PPD skin test or IGRA blood test performed by a licensed US medical doctor within 12 months prior to school entry.
Tip: You can get pediatric TB screenings and required vaccines done at the UCI Family Health Center or local urgent cares in Irvine.
If you indicate that your child speaks a language other than English at home, IUSD will administer the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC). This helps the school provide free classroom English support (ELD) without holding back your child’s academic grade.
Safe, high-quality after-school care for working student parents and postdocs when school dismisses.
UCI Child Care Services (Directly inside Verano Place!)
City of Irvine & IUSD Joint Non-Profit
City of Irvine Parks and Recreation
UCI Child Care Services
Full-day and weekly summer options so student parents can continue laboratory and dissertation work during the 10-week summer recess (June–August).
The premier on-campus summer camp for UCI graduate student families. Kids spend their days swimming at the ARC aquatics center, rock climbing at the ARC rock wall, playing team sports, and participating in STEM and creative art workshops.
Operated right in Verano Place by UCI Child Care Services. Offers continuous, reliable full-day childcare during the long summer break while school is out. Themed weekly field trips, water play days, gardening, science, and visiting performers.
Provides full-day licensed summer camp for children enrolled in or entering Turtle Rock Elementary. Includes arts and crafts, on-site waterslides, sports tournaments, cooking projects, and weekly off-campus excursions.
The City of Irvine publishes an extensive Summer Activity Guide featuring hundreds of affordable week-long specialty camps: LEGO robotics, drama & theater, tennis academy, skateboard camp, coding, gymnastics, and wilderness exploration.
Official academic enrichment program of IUSD. Offers grade-level preview courses in math, reading, science, music, and art to prevent summer learning loss, with afternoon child care options for working families.
IUSD operates designated school buses to select middle and high schools. For Turtle Rock Elementary, student parents often coordinate walking school buses and bicycle pools along the safe Turtle Rock bike trail.
View IUSD Bus Routes & Passes ➔Did you know? Eligible UCI graduate students, TAs, and GSRs can receive childcare tuition assistance through the UCI Graduate Division Child Care Reimbursement Program (up to $1,400+ per quarter for union-represented ASEs) and state early education subsidies.
UCI Child Care Reimbursement Details ➔