Irvine Chinese Immersion Academy

ICIA is the first public charter immersion school authorized by Irvine Unified Schools District (IUSD). The first day of school was August 24, 2023. The school campus is located at 1 Liberty, Irvine, CA 92620 (Westwood campus & located in the same parking lot as Sierra Vista Middle School).

ICIA is a free, public charter school. There is no fee for admission. Enrollment is lottery based before the beginning of each academic year. 

Prospective families who missed the lottery deadline can apply to join the waitlist through the community portal. The waitlist is timestamped by application, and we will contact you if a seat becomes available after the lottery list is exhausted. Waitlist - link

We’re so excited to hear that you’re interested in joining the ICIA family! Enrollment details, including our lottery process, will be shared in December 2025. Please check back at that time for updated information.

Ahead of the lottery, we will also host information sessions to help families learn more about our program and community.

ICIA is a public charter school approved by Irvine Unified School District. 

Yes, we are a year-round school.  Please refer to our School Calendars also found in our resources tab. 

Unfortunately, we are not offering any tours at this time.  Please refer to our enrollment page for the most current information in regards to campus tours and group campus tours should anything change.

Yes. We have childcare options for all ICIA (TK - 5th) students.  Only ICIA students are welcome to join The Dragon Den. More information can be found on our childcare page or email childcare@iciacademy.org

At ICIA, our Chinese Immersion Program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and engaging learning experience in both Mandarin and English. From an early age, students are immersed in a dual-language environment, fostering bilingual proficiency and cultural understanding.

For more detailed information, please refer to the California Department of Education TK requirements. The TK requirements will change again for the 2026-2027 academic year. 

We follow state public school guidelines.  No exceptions. 

New students interested in enrolling at ICIA must submit a lottery application through Apollo before the published deadline. After the application window closes, a public drawing will be held, and families will be notified of the results.

The lottery process for the 2026–2027 school year will begin in December 2025. Please stay tuned for detailed instructions and dates, which will be shared at that time.

As a public charter school, ICIA follows the California Department of Education’s age and birthdate guidelines to determine the appropriate grade level for each child. No exceptions can be made.

For more information about Transitional Kindergarten (TK) eligibility and requirements, please review the official CDE TK Guidelines

Yes — please create an online community portal for your family. Once your portal is set up, you can submit a waitlist application for each sibling within the same account.

Please note: this is a waitlist submission, not an enrollment application. You can find the link to the community portal on our Enrollment page

Classroom sizes will vary by grade level. Currently, TK - 1st grade are averaging approximately 22-26 students. 

Kindergarten is full day. TK is half day with TK AM and TK PM classes.

Unfortunately, no.