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32 schools

Independent and specialty schools in greater New Orleans

Newman, Metairie Park Country Day, McGehee, Arden Cahill, Riverside Academy and École Bilingue; the Islamic and Jewish day schools; and the Montessori programs. Several well-known independent schools are not on the BESE list, which means LA GATOR can't pay their tuition. The table makes that clear.

About these figures. Approval status, grade span and enrollment come from the Louisiana Department of Education, 2025-2026 BESE-Approved Nonpublic Schools Academic Classification List & Brumfield v. Dodd Approvals (May 19, 2025). STO participation comes from the Louisiana Department of Education, Tuition Donation Credit Program 2024-2025 Participating Nonpublic Schools. Teacher counts, affiliation and addresses come from the U.S. Department of Education, NCES Private School Survey (2023-24 public-use file; 2021-22 where a school did not respond in 2023-24). Louisiana does not collect tuition, so every tuition figure has to come from the school itself.

Independent

Isidore Newman School

New Orleans

1,013 K-12 studentsGrades PK-12

School details →Independent

Metairie Park Country Day School

Metairie

705 K-12 studentsGrades PK-12TDC school

School details →Independent

Riverside Academy

Reserve

483 K-12 studentsGrades K-12TDC school

School details →Independent

The Louise S. McGehee School

New Orleans

355 K-12 studentsGrades PK-12

School details →Other faith

Muslim Academy

Gretna

305 K-12 studentsGrades 1-12

School details →Independent

Kehoe-France School

Metairie

288 K-12 studentsGrades PK-7

School details →Independent

École Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans

New Orleans

278 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8

School details →Independent

Arden Cahill Academy

Gretna

265 K-12 studentsGrades PK-12TDC school

School details →Other faith

Islamic School of Greater New Orleans

Kenner

223 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8

School details →Independent

Cedarwood School

Mandeville

101 K-12 studentsGrades PK-7

School details →Independent

Bishop McManus School

New Orleans

94 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8TDC school

School details →Independent

McMillian's First Steps Academy

New Orleans

93 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8TDC school

School details →

School	Type	City	Grades	LA GATOR tuition	K-12 students*
Arden Cahill Academy 3101 Wall Blvd	Independent	Gretna	PK-12	✓ BESE-approved	265
Bishop McManus School 13123 I 10 Service Rd	Independent	New Orleans	PK-8	✓ BESE-approved	94
Cathedral Montessori School 9 Fortress Rd	Montessori	New Orleans	PK-6	✓ BESE-approved	42
Cedarwood School 607 Heavens Dr	Independent	Mandeville	PK-7	✓ BESE-approved	101
Children's College 1005 Helenes Way	Independent	Slidell	PK-1	✓ BESE-approved	0
Children's College of Academics	Independent	New Orleans	PK-8	✓ BESE-approved	—
Covington Montessori School 116 N Monroe St	Montessori	Covington	PK-K	✓ BESE-approved	5
Ecole Classique 5236 Glendale Street	Independent	Metairie	PK-12	✓ BESE-approved	125
Isidore Newman School 1903 Jefferson Ave	Independent	New Orleans	PK-12	✓ BESE-approved	1013
Islamic School of Greater New Orleans 2420 Illinois Ave	Other faith	Kenner	PK-8	✓ BESE-approved	223
Jewish Community Day School 3747 W Esplanade Ave N	Other faith	Metairie	PK-6	✓ BESE-approved	57
Kehoe-France Northshore 25 Patricia Drive	Independent	Covington	PK-7	✓ BESE-approved	121
Kehoe-France School 720 Elise Ave	Independent	Metairie	PK-7	✓ BESE-approved	288
Lake Castle Private School 8400 Hayne Blvd	Independent	New Orleans	PK-8	Not approved	306
Lake Castle Slidell Private School 59461 Thompson Rd	Independent	Slidell	PK-8	Not approved	336
Lakeview Maria Montessori Preschool 502 N Florida St	Montessori	Covington	PK-K	✓ BESE-approved	4
Lynn Oaks School 4316 E Judge Perez	Independent	Meraux	PK-12	Not approved	169
McMillian's First Steps Academy 2601 S Claiborne Ave	Independent	New Orleans	PK-8	✓ BESE-approved	93
Metairie Park Country Day School 300 Park Rd	Independent	Metairie	PK-12	✓ BESE-approved	705
Montessori Academy of Slidell	Montessori	Slidell	PK-K	✓ BESE-approved	—
Montessori Christian Academy	Montessori	Slidell	—	✓ BESE-approved	0
Muslim Academy 440 Realty Dr	Other faith	Gretna	1-12	✓ BESE-approved	305
Riverside Academy 332 Railroad Ave	Independent	Reserve	K-12	✓ BESE-approved	483
Southern Magnolia Montessori School Po Box 1659	Montessori	Abita Springs	PK-6	✓ BESE-approved	16
Stepping Stones Montessori School 552 Terry Pkwy	Montessori	Terrytown	PK-3	✓ BESE-approved	41
The Jones Academy for Girls	Independent	New Orleans	PK-1	✓ BESE-approved	9
The Louise S. McGehee School 2343 Prytania St	Independent	New Orleans	PK-12	✓ BESE-approved	355
Torah Academy 5210 W Esplanade Ave	Other faith	Metairie	PK-8	✓ BESE-approved	56
University Montessori School 7508 Burthe St	Montessori	New Orleans	PK-K	✓ BESE-approved	5
Waldorf School of New Orleans 517 Soraparu Street	Independent	New Orleans	PK-8	✓ BESE-approved	0
Weatherford Academy 291 Cottonwood Dr	Independent	Gretna	PK-1	✓ BESE-approved	0
École Bilingue de la Nouvelle-Orléans 821 General Pershing St	Independent	New Orleans	PK-8	✓ BESE-approved	278

* K-12 enrollment on the state's 2025-26 BESE approval list; federal survey enrollment for schools not on that list. "BESE-approved" means the school can accept LA GATOR tuition if it registers in Odyssey for the year. "Not approved" schools can't be paid tuition from the account.

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