Kindergarten is the easiest year to enter LA GATOR, and the year families most often get the timing wrong. Here's how the age rule, the application window and pre-K seats fit together in Baton Rouge.
The age rule
A student must be at least 5 by September 30 of the school year to receive LA GATOR. So the account starts with kindergarten. Pre-K years, including PK3 and PK4 programs at parish schools, are paid privately.
Timing the application
Apply in the March window before your child's kindergarten year. For 2026-27 that was March 1 to March 16, 2026. Awards come in early summer after the Legislature sets funding, and new applicants are prioritized by group: students with an IDEA disability or from households at or below 250% of poverty come before everyone else. A child entering kindergarten for the first time from a qualifying-income household can also apply for an STO scholarship, which stacks with LA GATOR.
Schools with the biggest pre-K programs
Many families secure a kindergarten seat by enrolling in a school's pre-K first. These state-approved schools in our directory reported the most pre-K students on the 2025-26 approval list:
| School | City | Pre-K students | K-12 students | Grades |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Ghost School | Hammond | 128 | 560 | PK-8 |
| Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School | Baton Rouge | 118 | 862 | PK-8 |
| St. George School | Baton Rouge | 109 | 999 | PK-8 |
| Hosanna Christian Academy | Baton Rouge | 100 | 390 | PK-8 |
| St. Aloysius School | Baton Rouge | 98 | 1,042 | PK-8 |
| St. Peter Chanel Interparochial School | Paulina | 84 | 249 | PK-7 |
| Trinity Episcopal Day School | Baton Rouge | 80 | 76 | PK-5 |
| St. Thomas More School | Baton Rouge | 79 | 496 | PK-8 |
| The Dunham School | Baton Rouge | 78 | 722 | PK-12 |
| St. John Primary School | Prairieville | 67 | 273 | PK-3 |
| St. Jude the Apostle School | Baton Rouge | 66 | 504 | PK-8 |
| Oak Forest Academy | Amite | 58 | 726 | PK-12 |
| Catholic Elementary School of Pointe Coupee | New Roads | 55 | 296 | PK-6 |
| St. Alphonsus Liguori School | Greenwell Springs | 55 | 404 | PK-8 |
| Ascension Christian School | Gonzales | 54 | 559 | PK-12 |
Source: LDOE 2025-26 BESE-approved nonpublic schools list (pre-K and K-12 enrollment reported by each school).
Questions to ask a school with pre-K
- Does a pre-K seat carry into kindergarten, or do we reapply?
- When is the kindergarten deposit due, and is it refundable if our LA GATOR award doesn't come through?
- Do you take STO scholarships for kindergarten?
- What is the full kindergarten cost, including fees, and what's left after the account?