St. Rita School

Using LA GATOR at St. Rita School

LA GATOR can pay tuition at St. Rita School because the school is on the Louisiana Department of Education's 2025-26 list of BESE-approved nonpublic schools (accredited). Approval is a condition of the program, not a guarantee the school has registered for the year, so confirm that with the office. Its Brumfield v. Dodd nondiscrimination approval, required for any state-funded placement, dates from 1976.

On that list the school reported 247 K-12 students plus 48 in pre-K, which makes it the 65th-largest of 114 approved schools in the eight-parish area.

By enrollment it is the 18th of 31 approved schools on Jefferson's east bank; the nearest comparable schools with the same grade span and affiliation in the area are St. Catherine of Siena School, St. Ann School, St. Philip Neri School. Its pre-K program (48 children) is the usual route into kindergarten here, which is the first year LA GATOR can pay.

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.

The federal Private School Survey (2023-24) recorded 267 students, 30.6 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of about 8.7 to 1. The school reports membership in National Catholic Educational Association.

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

Metairie, Kenner and River Ridge parish schools tend to have the largest enrollments and the most practice with scholarship billing. Ask for the parishioner rate, the sibling discount, and whether the business office bills Odyssey quarterly; then layer an STO award or archdiocesan assistance on the balance.

Check my funding for this school →

Grade 8 options after St. Rita 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:

• John Curtis Christian School (River Ridge, grades PK-12, about 2 mi)
• St. Martin's Episcopal School (Metairie, grades PK-12, about 3 mi)
• St. Therese Academy (Metairie, grades PK-12, about 4 mi)
• St. Andrew's Episcopal School (New Orleans, grades PK-8, about 4 mi)
• Archbishop Rummel High School (Metairie, grades 8-12, all-boys, about 5 mi)
• Crescent City Christian School (Metairie, grades PK-12, about 5 mi)

Ask the admissions office

1. Is the school registered with Odyssey as a LA GATOR school for 2026-27, and does it bill tuition quarterly to match the deposits?
2. 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?
3. Do you take STO scholarships (ACE, Arete, Aspiring Scholars, Son of a Saint)? Which is applied first, LA GATOR or the STO award?
4. Which high schools do your 7th graders move on to, and do you help with placement test preparation?
5. Does a PK-4 seat guarantee a kindergarten seat, which is when the account can start?

Nearest private schools

Straight-line distance between campus coordinates.