Using LA GATOR at St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory School
The state classifies St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory School as accredited on its 2025-26 BESE approval list, which is the gate for LA GATOR tuition. Louisiana doesn't publish which approved schools signed up with Odyssey in a given year, so ask the school directly. Its Brumfield v. Dodd nondiscrimination approval, required for any state-funded placement, dates from 1976.
On that list the school reported 128 K-12 students, which makes it the 80th-largest of 114 approved schools in the eight-parish area.
By enrollment it is the 28th of 42 approved schools within Orleans Parish; the nearest comparable high schools in the area are Mount Carmel Academy, St. Mary's Dominican High School, Cabrini High School.
It was also on the state's 2024-25 list of schools taking Tuition Donation Credit scholarships. For a family at or below 250% of the poverty line that matters: since Act 403, an STO award from ACE, Arete, Aspiring Scholars or the New Orleans-based Son of a Saint can be added on top of LA GATOR, up to the school's actual tuition and fees.
Enough former Louisiana Scholarship Program students were tested here for the state to publish a 2025 Scholarship Cohort Index of 45.4 (K-8 assessment index 29.6, progress index 39.7). It is calculated like a public school performance score, for scholarship students only.
The federal Private School Survey (2023-24) recorded 141 students, 12.3 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of about 11.5 to 1. The school reports membership in National Catholic Educational Association.
Grade 8 to grade 12 is 5 years at this school. Funded every year at 2026-27 levels, that is roughly $26,215 at the standard amount or $38,130 at the 250%-of-poverty amount, before any STO scholarship. Awards are reset annually and depend on the appropriation, so use it for planning, not budgeting.
Covering the rest
Archdiocesan high schools set their own tuition and run their own need-based aid, usually through FACTS. Ask whether the school applies LA GATOR before or after it calculates aid, and whether an STO scholarship can be layered on top. Alumni and parish-based scholarships are common and rarely advertised.
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Ask the admissions office
- Is the school registered with Odyssey as a LA GATOR school for 2026-27, and does it bill tuition quarterly to match the deposits?
- When is the placement test for 8th grade, and does the admission timeline fit the March LA GATOR window?
- What is the all-in cost for this grade, including fees, and what does a family at the $5,243 and $7,626 levels owe after the account?
- Do you take STO scholarships (ACE, Arete, Aspiring Scholars, Son of a Saint)? Which is applied first, LA GATOR or the STO award?
- Which dual-enrollment and AP courses can be paid from the account?
Nearest private schools
| School | Type | Grades | Distance | BESE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De La Salle High School | Catholic | 8-12 | 0.5 mi | ✓ |
| St. George's Episcopal School | Episcopal | PK-8 | 0.6 mi | ✓ |
| St. Stephen School | Catholic | PK-7 | 0.6 mi | ✓ |
| Academy of the Sacred Heart | Catholic | PK-12 | 0.6 mi | ✓ |
| École Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans | Independent | PK-8 | 0.6 mi | ✓ |
| Isidore Newman School | Independent | PK-12 | 0.8 mi | ✓ |
Straight-line distance between campus coordinates.