Mater Dolorosa School

LA GATOR and Mater Dolorosa School

Mater Dolorosa School is on the Louisiana Department of Education's 2025-26 list of BESE-approved nonpublic schools, classified as accredited. BESE approval is what a school needs to accept LA GATOR tuition from a family's account. Its federal Brumfield v. Dodd nondiscrimination approval dates to 1976.

The state doesn't publish which approved schools registered with LA GATOR each year (statewide, more than 240 took part in the first year), so ask the office whether it is set up for 2026-27 and how it bills the account.

The school reported 153 K-12 students and 18 pre-K students on that list. That ranks #42 of 69 approved schools in our ten-parish directory by K-12 enrollment.

Mater Dolorosa School was also on the state's 2024-25 Tuition Donation Credit participating list, so it accepts scholarships from Louisiana's school tuition organizations (ACE Scholarships, Arete Scholars, Aspiring Scholars and Son of a Saint). Those scholarships stack with LA GATOR: the account pays tuition and mandatory fees first, and an STO award can cover the rest, up to actual tuition and fees.

In the federal Private School Survey (2023-24), it reported 145 students, 13.4 full-time-equivalent teachers and about 10.8 students per teacher. It lists membership in National Catholic Educational Association.

From kindergarten through grade 8 is 9 school years. At 2026-27 amounts, a student funded every year here would bring about $47,187 at the standard amount, or $68,634 at the 250%-of-poverty amount. Amounts are set each year and new awards depend on funding, so treat this as a planning number. LA GATOR starts at age 5, so pre-K years are paid privately.

Paying the balance

Diocese of Baton Rouge schools typically offer a lower rate to registered, participating parishioners, plus need-based tuition assistance. Ask how LA GATOR applies to the parish rate, and whether an STO scholarship or diocesan aid can cover the balance.

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After grade 8: where students can continue

Mater Dolorosa School ends at grade 8. These approved schools serve grade 9:

• Oak Forest Academy (Amite, grades PK-12, about 7 mi)
• St. Thomas Aquinas Diocesan Regional High School (Hammond, grades 8-12, about 7 mi)
• Open Door Christian Academy (Denham Springs, grades PK-12, about 28 mi)
• St. Michael the Archangel High School (Baton Rouge, grades 9-12, about 33 mi)
• Central Private School (Central, grades PK-12, about 33 mi)

Questions to ask the school

1. Are you registered as a participating LA GATOR school in Odyssey for 2026-27, and how do you bill the account?
2. What is the full cost for my child's grade, including mandatory fees, and what's left after the account?
3. Do you accept STO scholarships (ACE, Arete, Aspiring Scholars, Son of a Saint), and in what order do you apply them?
4. Which state test or national norm-referenced test do LA GATOR students take here?
5. Does a pre-K seat here carry into kindergarten, when LA GATOR starts?

Closest private schools

Straight-line distance from federal survey or address coordinates.