When school started back for Lindsay Lane Christian Academy last Wednesday, there were more students walking the hallways at the Main, Den and Cub campuses.

Head of School Stephen Murr said enrollment jumped from 471 students at the end of the last school year to 503 this year. He explained when the school started 10 years ago, there were just 37 students enrolled.

“Our area is growing, and there are more people looking for a school. There are things that set us apart, and we’re trying to get the word out,” he said. “I think Lindsay Lane is a well-kept secret because our academics and extracurriculars have improved so much over the past five or six years and we’re so much stronger than we were.”

The school is sponsored by Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, but Murr described LLCA as a nondenominational Christian school.

“We have a lot of different churches represented in our student body,” he said.

He’s most proud of the school’s academic accomplishments, however. Last year, the top 50% of LLCA’s senior class had American College Testing (ACT) scores of 29.7 or higher.

“I don’t know of any school in the area that can come close to that,” Murr said.

He credited students’ participation in an Athens State University ACT preparation program as a difference-maker for the students.

“A lot of it also goes back to what happens in the classroom every day,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with the faculty and staff we have.”

Lindsay Lane has about 55 teachers and 20 tutors on staff this year. That number could grow to accommodate future needs, but Murr is a proponent of small classroom sizes.

He said the school is offering three ninth-grade biology classes this year — two honors classes and one standard class. There are only 40 students who will take the class, but they will be split among three biology teachers.

“When you’ve only got 10 to 15 students in a class, it makes it easier for students to ask questions and get more involved,” Murr said. “That’s one thing I think hurts students and makes it difficult for teachers when (students) are lumped into large groups and you have students at different levels (of learning). By making a choice to add a class or teacher, it translates to happier students and parents.”

Increasing enrollment may eventually lead to expanding current buildings or new construction. He said school officials are closely monitoring the school’s long-term growth plan.

“We’re getting close to capacity and we have a plan to build a second educational building and a new gym,” he said. “We’re building an outdoor pavilion that will seat 72 students, and it will be a covered facility that will have fans and lights. That’s going to buy us a year or two.”

When The News Courier reached Murr by phone Thursday, he was with students in grades 9-12 at a camp south of Birmingham. The students were to hear from a guest speaker, then be split into groups so they could talk and get to know each other.

“It’s something we did when I was in school, and it puts thing off to a good start,” he said. “The kids really enjoy it, and it’s a good way to start off the year.”