Cheryl Hunter

Lakeview Christian Academy officials said they’re doing the “unthinkable,” offering free tuition for the coming school year.

That comes as a blessing to Cheryl Hunter, a single mom from Ringgold who works at Blue Cross/Blue Shield. She said the academy already was more affordable than many private schools, but the $3,000 grant is welcome help in sending her grandson, Michael, 11, to the sixth grade.

“I’m really excited about it. I hope it infuses new growth and lots of new things into the school, because it deserves it,” Ms. Hunter said. “The school has been a godsend.”

Lakeview Christian is offering 100 full-tuition grants on a first-come, first-served, basis, said assistant administrator Tina Barber. Parents will still have to pay a $600 fee for application and books.

The offer is limited to students from Georgia, Tennessee or Alabama, and to students in grades four through 12, she said.

The plan has the potential to nearly double attendance at the K-12 academy, which had 53 students enrolled last year. Half were in grades 10-12. Ms. Barber said more than 60 students have already enrolled for this year.

Lakeview Ministries is affiliated with the Church of God, but the academy is non-denominational, Ms. Barber said.

Associate pastor Rev. David Hammontree Jr. was unavailable for comment, but said in a prepared statement that “tuition is a price that leaves a lot of people out.”

So, school leaders came up with the free tuition plan.

“What better way to serve families seeking a quality, Christian education?” Mr. Hammontree said in the statement.

Ms. Barber said the academy had gotten some unexpected support that made the offer possible, and hopes are to continue free tuition beyond this school year.

The small school is divided into three classrooms, each managed by two teachers and a parent aide. Teachers use the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum.

“The way the curriculum’s set up, you have to basically choose to learn,” said 2002 Lakeview Academy graduate Kelley Lockman, 24, now works in video production for Charter Media in Dalton, Ga.

Ms. Barber said the school has grown since it was founded in 1988, but the goal of the free tuition is to expand the Lakeview Ministries’ outreach in the community.

“A lot of people in our area cannot afford a Christian school,” she said.