Kingdom Christian Academy now offers needs-based financial aid

Through a partnership with consulting and tuition management groups, Kingdom Christian Academy has begun offering needs-based financial aid to assist families interested in having their students attend the school.

Administrator Paulette Eichman said the school offered a degree of tuition assistance to families in the past based on each year's budget, but this venture through tuition management firm FACTS Management Group will help reach a broader group of students.

"We don't want the financial part to be what turns parents off," said Eichman. "The first thing people ask us is how much is tuition. We don't want that to be the factor of whether you attend, we want to make sure it's a good fit for the student."

Now, for a $30 application fee, families will be able to work with the program to find financial aid or alternative payment plans that suit their income.

KCA Board member Bryce Koelling said that this type of assistance worked in the same way as colleges and other higher education institutions.

"It's like a college model where you apply for financial aid, and then the financial aid company determines what you qualify for and they will let the school know," said Koelling. "It's just like Westminster or William Woods, very few people are going to pay the full amount."

KCA had been researching ways to provide better financial aid when GraceWorks Ministries, the Colorado firm KCA had hired in January to develop the school's annual Funding Campaign, marketing and enrollment, suggested FACTS.

Eichman and Koelling also said that aid is available to families with students currently enrolled who could now use assistance, whether due to family emergencies or job situations.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.