Using LA GATOR at Cedarwood School
Cedarwood School holds state approval for 2025-26: it appears on the BESE-approved nonpublic school list as accredited. That is what makes it eligible to receive LA GATOR tuition payments through Odyssey, once the school registers for the year. Its Brumfield v. Dodd nondiscrimination approval, required for any state-funded placement, dates from 1994.
On that list the school reported 101 K-12 students plus 36 in pre-K, which makes it the 88th-largest of 114 approved schools in the eight-parish area.
By enrollment it is the 14th of 17 approved schools on the Northshore; the nearest comparable schools with the same grade span and affiliation in the area are Kehoe-France Northshore. Its pre-K program (36 children) is the usual route into kindergarten here, which is the first year LA GATOR can pay.
The school did not appear on the 2024-25 Tuition Donation Credit list, so an STO scholarship may not be usable here unless it has since joined. LA GATOR itself is unaffected.
The federal Private School Survey (2023-24) recorded 138 students, 20.4 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of about 6.8 to 1.
Kindergarten to grade 7 is 8 years at this school. Funded every year at 2026-27 levels, that is roughly $41,944 at the standard amount or $61,008 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. Pre-K years aren't eligible; the account starts at age 5. After grade 7, the award moves with your child to an approved high school.
Covering the rest
Independent schools publish tuition and run need-based aid through FACTS or a similar service. Ask where LA GATOR sits in that calculation; at the larger campuses the account covers a fraction of tuition and aid does the heavy lifting.
Check my funding for this school →
Grade 8 options after Cedarwood School
New Orleans high schools admit at grade 8, so families here apply in the fall of 7th grade. Approved schools serving grade 8, nearest first:
- Christ Episcopal School (Covington, grades PK-12, about 3 mi)
- Northlake Christian School (Covington, grades PK-12, about 4 mi)
- Saint Paul's School (Covington, grades 8-12, all-boys, about 5 mi)
- St. Scholastica Academy (Covington, grades 8-12, all-girls, about 5 mi)
- Archbishop Hannan High School (Covington, grades 8-12, about 6 mi)
- First Baptist Christian School (Slidell, grades 1-12, about 22 mi)
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?
- 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 high schools do your 7th graders move on to, and do you help with placement test preparation?
- Does a PK-4 seat guarantee a kindergarten seat, which is when the account can start?
Nearest private schools
| School | Type | Grades | Distance | BESE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Queen of Peace Catholic School | Catholic | PK-7 | 1.0 mi | ✓ |
| Christ Episcopal School | Episcopal | PK-12 | 3.2 mi | ✓ |
| Northlake Christian School | Christian | PK-12 | 3.7 mi | ✓ |
| Our Lady of the Lake School | Catholic | PK-7 | 4.0 mi | ✓ |
| Chesterton Academy of Divine Mercy | Catholic | 8-9 | 4.6 mi | — |
| Saint Paul's School | Catholic | 8-12 | 4.8 mi | ✓ |
Straight-line distance between campus coordinates.