Southfield and St. Mark's in Shreveport, Glenbrook in Minden, the Montessori school on C.E. Galloway, and the parish academies in Grand Cane, Coushatta, Athens and Haynesville. These schools have no church governing them, set their own tuition and run their own aid, and several of them are the only private option in their parish.
Glenbrook School
Minden
School details →IndependentSouthfield School
Shreveport
School details →EpiscopalSt. Mark's Cathedral School
Shreveport
School details →IndependentClaiborne Academy
Haynesville
School details →MontessoriThe Montessori School for Shreveport
Shreveport
School details →IndependentRiverdale Academy
Coushatta
School details →| School | Type | City | Grades | LA GATOR tuition | K-12 students* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne Academy 6741 Highway 79 | Independent | Haynesville | PK-12 | ✓ BESE-approved | 164 |
| Country Day Montessori School | Montessori | Coushatta | PK-11 | ✓ BESE-approved | — |
| Glenbrook School 1674 Country Club Circle | Independent | Minden | K-12 | ✓ BESE-approved | 453 |
| McKinney Byrd Academy 8900 Kingston Road | Independent | Shreveport | PK-12 | ✓ BESE-approved | 12 |
| Riverdale Academy 100 Riverdale Road | Independent | Coushatta | PK-12 | ✓ BESE-approved | 141 |
| Southfield School 1100 Southfield Road | Independent | Shreveport | PK-8 | ✓ BESE-approved | 310 |
| St. Mark's Cathedral School 2785 Fairfield Avenue | Episcopal | Shreveport | PK-8 | ✓ BESE-approved | 219 |
| The Montessori School for Shreveport 2605 C E Galloway Boulevard | Montessori | Shreveport | PK-8 | ✓ BESE-approved | 153 |
| The Montessori School for Shreveport (South Campus) | Montessori | Shreveport | PK-K | ✓ BESE-approved | 2 |
* 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.
No church subsidizing the tuition
That is the defining feature of this group and the reason its tuition behaves differently. A parish or church school can price below cost because a congregation makes up the difference; an independent school cannot. What these schools offer instead is a specific program with nobody's doctrine attached, and in several cases they are the only school of their kind in north Louisiana: one Episcopal day school, one Montessori school with a second early-childhood campus, and three parish academies that are the only private option where they sit.
The largest here is Glenbrook School in Minden with 453 K-12 students, which runs kindergarten through grade 12 and draws from Webster Parish and beyond. In Shreveport, Southfield School and St. Mark's Cathedral School both run pre-K through grade 8, which means a transfer decision at grade 9 and a second school search; both sit close to the metro's larger high schools, and the account follows your child to any approved one that admits them.
Aid here is need-based, and the order of operations matters
Most of these schools run need-based aid through FACTS or a similar service rather than through discounts. Ask whether the school assesses your need before or after it counts LA GATOR, because a school that counts the account first will usually find you need less help, and the difference lands on your side of the ledger. Ask also which fees are billed as required fees through Odyssey, since independent schools tend to itemize more than church schools do.
One rule specific to Montessori
Montessori programs normally begin at age 3, and LA GATOR begins at age 5. The pre-K years cannot be paid from the account at all, so only the kindergarten and elementary years are funded. If the school you want runs a mixed-age primary classroom spanning ages 3 to 6, ask how billing works when part of the classroom is funded and part is not, and read our post on bridging the pre-K year before you commit.
See what your family's account would cover here
Five questions, no documents. An advisor calls back with the amount you are likely to get, which Shreveport-Bossier schools take it, and what covers the rest.