Enrollment increased dramatically during the 1970s and peaked at 2,879 students in 1976. At that point, the Academy was the largest private school in the United States. Many local Churches of Christ to allowed the school to use their educational facilities in order to expand. By 1970–71, all elementary enrollment had moved from the Cherry Road campus into local church buildings. In 1978, the Academy separated from Harding College becoming an independent school under the direction of its own board of directors.