Every Catholic family in the Diocese of Lake Charles meets the same fork at the end of eighth grade. The five diocesan elementary schools stop there, and the diocese has one high school. That makes the funding plan for a Catholic family here a two-stage plan, and the second stage is the expensive one.
The schools on each side of the fork
| School | City | Grades | K-12 students | Pre-K | STO list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our Lady Queen of Heaven School | Lake Charles | PK-8 | 577 | 66 | ✓ |
| Immaculate Conception Cathedral School | Lake Charles | PK-8 | 335 | 36 | ✓ |
| St. Margaret Catholic School | Lake Charles | PK-8 | 247 | 67 | ✓ |
| Our Lady's School | Sulphur | PK-8 | 204 | 47 | ✓ |
| Our Lady Immaculate Catholic School | Jennings | PK-8 | 166 | 41 | ✓ |
| St. Louis Catholic High School | Lake Charles | 9-12 | 486 | — | ✓ |
LDOE 2025-26 BESE-approved list and 2024-25 TDC list.
Why the account stretches further before grade 9
LA GATOR pays the same amount in kindergarten as in grade 12. Catholic elementary tuition, especially at the registered-parishioner rate, is generally lower than high school tuition, so the share of the bill covered by a $5,243 or $7,626 award usually falls at the transition. We do not publish tuition, because the state does not collect it; ask St. Louis Catholic High School for its current figure and compare it with your elementary bill. The difference between the two is the number to plan for.
What carries over and what does not
- The account belongs to the student and moves to any approved high school, as long as you renew in the spring window.
- A protected voucher amount from the old Louisiana Scholarship Program ends with the last grade of the school where it was used, so a former voucher student moves to the standard tiers at grade 9.
- STO eligibility continues, because all six Catholic schools were on the 2024-25 STO list. For high school students STO awards can reach a higher cap than in K-8.
- Parishioner pricing may not exist at the high school level in the same form; ask.
The non-Catholic options at grade 9
If St. Louis is not the fit, the approved schools in the five parishes that teach grade 9 are Bishop Noland Episcopal Day School, Hamilton Christian Academy and Life Christian Academy (approved through grade 10), plus the small Indian Bible Academy in Allen Parish. The account works at any of them. Dual enrollment at McNeese or SOWELA is another way to add rigor or a trade credential during high school; see the dual-enrollment guide.
A timeline for seventh- and eighth-grade families
- Grade 7 spring: renew LA GATOR and ask St. Louis for the high school tuition and fee schedule.
- Grade 8 fall: attend the high school's open house and apply for admission.
- Grade 8 spring: renew the account again, apply to STOs with your income documents, and ask about the school's aid.
- Before grade 9: get the balance in writing after the award and any STO scholarship.