Using LA GATOR at Atonement Lutheran School
The state classifies Atonement Lutheran School as non-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 137 K-12 students plus 32 in pre-K, which makes it the 79th-largest of 114 approved schools in the eight-parish area.
By enrollment it is the 24th of 31 approved schools on Jefferson's east bank; the nearest comparable schools with the same grade span and affiliation in the area are Memorial Baptist School, Faith Lutheran School. Its pre-K program (32 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 156 students, 12.3 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of about 12.7 to 1.
Kindergarten to grade 8 is 9 years at this school. Funded every year at 2026-27 levels, that is roughly $47,187 at the standard amount or $68,634 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.
Covering the rest
Church-affiliated schools often discount tuition for member families and staff. Confirm those discounts survive when part of the bill is paid from the account, and ask which fees (registration, technology, books, uniforms) the school bills through Odyssey.
Check my funding for this school →
Grade 9 options after Atonement Lutheran School
Approved schools serving grade 9, nearest first:
- Archbishop Chapelle High School (Metairie, grades 8-12, all-girls, about 0 mi)
- Ecole Classique (Metairie, grades PK-12, about 1 mi)
- Crescent City Christian School (Metairie, grades PK-12, about 2 mi)
- St. Therese Academy (Metairie, grades PK-12, about 2 mi)
- St. Martin's Episcopal School (Metairie, grades PK-12, about 3 mi)
- Lutheran High School of Greater New Orleans (Metairie, grades 8-12, about 3 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?
- Does a PK-4 seat guarantee a kindergarten seat, which is when the account can start?
Nearest private schools
| School | Type | Grades | Distance | BESE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Philip Neri School | Catholic | PK-7 | 0.2 mi | ✓ |
| Archbishop Chapelle High School | Catholic | 8-12 | 0.5 mi | ✓ |
| Memorial Baptist School | Baptist | PK-8 | 0.7 mi | ✓ |
| Torah Academy | Other faith | PK-8 | 1.0 mi | ✓ |
| Ecole Classique | Independent | PK-12 | 1.1 mi | ✓ |
| Greater New Orleans Christian Academy | Seventh-day Adventist | PK-10 | 1.1 mi | — |
Straight-line distance between campus coordinates.