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Life Christian Academy

Private school · Tacoma, Pierce County · grades PK-12 · Christian (Life Center, Tacoma)

Snapshot

K-12 enrollment
668
SBE-reported, 2024-25
Student-teacher ratio
6.9:1
NCES PSS, 2021-22
Teachers (FTE)
88
NCES PSS, 2021-22

Identity and approval

Campus
Life Christian Academy, 1717 S Union Ave, Tacoma 98405
Host public district
Tacoma School District
Grades
PK-12
Religious affiliation
Christian (Life Center, Tacoma)
Coed / single-sex
coed
Accreditation
Cognia; CESA
Website
https://www.wherelifehappens.org
WA SBE approval
2026-27 (state-approved private school)
Profit status
Nonprofit

Enrollment

K123456789101112
48635147534655506045534354

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25 school year, as reported to the WA State Board of Education.

Tuition and financial aid

By division / fees
School does not post tuition rates online; families are directed to contact admissions.
Financial aid
Need-based Financial Aid Program available; no statistics published.

Source: the school's own tuition page · aid page, observed 2026-07-03. Tuition changes annually, verify before applying.

Academics

Washington private schools are not required to publish state assessment results. No public score data exists for this school.

Student demographics

Asian
4%
Black
16%
Hispanic
4%
White
70%

NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2021-22 (the most recent federal collection). Private-school demographics are reported biennially and lag public-school data.

Research dossier

Life Christian Academy

PK–12 Christian day school in Central Tacoma · 766 students, 98 of them preschoolers (WA SBE, 2024-25) · educational ministry of Life Center Church, Assemblies of God.

The verdict

The first decision-relevant fact about Life Christian Academy is that it will not tell you the price. The school's own tuition page publishes no figures, just a direction to call admissions (checked June 2026), and the real numbers surface only inside a guided funnel. For late-cycle applicants, that funnel ends with a non-refundable $1,000-per-child deposit collected during the principal interview itself. Third-party estimates put upper-school tuition somewhere around $14,000 to $16,000, but those are estimates, not quotes. The second fact: the enrollment contract binds harder than most. It auto-renews unless you opt out by February 28, withdrawal penalties escalate to 100% of annual tuition for a second-semester exit, and transcripts are withheld until the balance clears. The third: after rival Sound Christian Academy collapsed days before the 2025-26 school year, Life Christian became close to the only conservative-evangelical option in Tacoma, and that leverage runs in the school's favor, not yours. None of this makes it a bad school. Church-scale resources, small classes, legitimate athletics, and a learning-support program are all real. But what you'd be signing is a covenant, financial and theological at once, and its terms deserve more scrutiny than the campus tour invites.

Researched 2026-07-04. Citations and claim ledger included in the full dossier.

That is the free excerpt. The full dossier covers what the school's own marketing won't: admissions mechanics and real selectivity, all-in cost and aid behavior, matriculation depth, culture and fit signals, institutional health, every claim cited and dated. Unlock it for $9, or get a $29 Research Pass with 3 dossiers included.

The real comparison is against your public options.

Tuition here runs five figures a year, the question is what it buys over the public schools your address already gives you. A $29 Research Pass unlocks score trends, peer percentiles, competition evidence, gifted-pathway detail, and PTA capacity on every public school in the region, plus 3 full research dossiers for the schools on your shortlist.

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Sources

Weighing private against public?

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