St. Margaret Catholic School

LA GATOR at St. Margaret Catholic School

Louisiana's 2025-26 nonpublic approval list carries St. Margaret Catholic School as accredited. In practical terms that is the green light for LA GATOR: an approved school can receive tuition and required fees from a student's account once it signs up in Odyssey for the year. Sign-up is the school's own annual step and the state does not publish who completed it, so confirm it for 2026-27. The school's Brumfield v. Dodd clearance, which any school enrolling state-funded students must hold, is dated 1976.

The school reported 247 K-12 students and 67 pre-K children to the state, which makes it number 6 by K-12 enrollment among the 13 approved schools in the five parishes.

It is one of five diocesan elementary schools that send most of their graduates toward St. Louis Catholic High School, the diocese's only high school. The account follows the student through that move, so a family here is really planning two stages: nine years at parish-school rates, then four at high school rates.

It is on the state's 2024-25 Tuition Donation Credit list. For families at or under 250% of the federal poverty level, that means a scholarship from a school tuition organization can sit on top of LA GATOR, and under Act 403 the two together can reach the school's full tuition and fees.

In the 2023-24 round of the federal Private School Survey the school counted 246 students, 28.3 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio near 8.7 students per teacher. It lists membership in National Catholic Educational Association.

Across every funded grade

The account can pay for 9 school years here (kindergarten to grade 8). At this year's amounts that adds up to about $47,187 on the standard award, $68,634 on the lower-income award and as much as $137,277 for an IDEA student, not counting STO scholarships. Each year's award depends on the appropriation, so use it to size the decision, not as a promise. The pre-K years on this campus are outside the account; funding begins at five.

Covering the rest

Start with the parish. Diocesan schools here generally quote a lower rate to registered, contributing parishioners, so ask what qualifies and how long it takes. Then ask whether the business office bills Odyssey quarterly, and whether an STO award or parish assistance is applied after the account.

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What to ask when you call

1. Are you set up in Odyssey for 2026-27, and does your billing follow the quarterly deposit schedule?
2. What is the all-in price for my child's grade, and what would a family on the $5,243 or $7,626 award still owe?
3. Which STO scholarships have your families used, and does the STO award post after LA GATOR?
4. How many of last year's eighth graders went on to St. Louis Catholic High School?
5. Does a pre-K seat guarantee a kindergarten seat, the first year the account can pay?

Nearby schools on the federal map

Straight-line miles between federal survey coordinates. Schools without a federal record cannot be placed on the map.