The Doors Are Open: A New Chapter Begins in Autaugaville

6 days ago
6 min read

There are some accomplishments that are difficult to put into words while you're still living through them, and this is certainly one of ours. After a year of planning, rebuilding, praying, problem-solving, and receiving support from more people than we could possibly name in one breath, Autaugaville Christian Academy is officially open. On Monday, we welcomed our community onto campus for our Open House, and on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, students walked through those doors for their first official day of school.

For Autaugaville, that moment carries a little more weight than an ordinary first day.

From Autaugaville School to Autaugaville Christian Academy

Just over a year ago, this same campus had an uncertain future. Following the decision to close Autaugaville School, local students were reassigned outside of the community and a building that had educated generations of families was left without students of its own. For a small rural community, losing a school means losing much more than classrooms. Schools become part of the rhythm of a town: the morning traffic, ball games, programs, teachers everyone knows, generations of families who can point to the same hallways and say, "I went there too."

When our CEO, Marquis Forge, stepped forward on behalf of MRaine River Association to purchase the former Autaugaville School property, we knew taking ownership of the campus was only the beginning. The property included the land, multiple buildings, and existing infrastructure, but because it had previously operated as a public school, much of what had once filled those buildings had already been distributed elsewhere. Desks, technology, equipment, supplies, and even things as simple as ethernet cords had to be replaced. We didn't purchase a ready-made school. We purchased the opportunity to build one.

Over the months that followed, that empty campus slowly began becoming Autaugaville Christian Academy. Classrooms started taking shape again. Furniture returned. Supplies arrived. Faculty and staff were hired. Volunteers came from different schools, cities, counties, churches, organizations, and walks of life to lend their hands wherever they could. Families trusted us with their children before there had ever been a "first day," and community members continued showing up simply because they believed Autaugaville deserved to have a school of its own.

At the center of that transformation has been our Head of School, Dr. Rachel Surles, who has taken on the tremendous responsibility of turning a vision into an actual place where children can learn and thrive. Alongside our faculty, administrative staff, teachers, and volunteers, Dr. Surles has helped shape not only what ACA would look like when the doors opened, but the kind of school we want it to become. Our foundation is rooted in God, our Eagle mascot reflects Isaiah 40:31, and from the beginning our goal has been to create an environment where our students are challenged academically, cared for personally, and surrounded by people who genuinely want to see them succeed.

Opening the Doors Again

That history is what made Monday's Open House feel so different. We weren't simply showing people a new school; we were welcoming a community back into a place that already belonged to so many of their memories.

And goodness, did the community show up.

We were joined by families, churches, community organizations, chambers, government representatives, local and neighboring schools, businesses, friends, volunteers, and supporters from near and far. Some of the people walking through the campus had supported this effort from its earliest stages, while others were seeing the transformation for the first time. There were familiar faces reconnecting, new relationships being formed, people touring classrooms, stopping for pictures, talking with our staff, and taking in what this campus had become.

For us, that support meant everything because ACA has never been the work of one person or one organization. It took people willing to donate, volunteer, make introductions, share resources, move furniture, teach, encourage, pray, and sometimes simply ask, "What do you need?" We have seen support arrive from directions we never anticipated, and Open House gave us the rare opportunity to look around and see so many of those people gathered in the same place.

Then Tuesday came, and the celebration became real life.

Students arrived for the first official day of Autaugaville Christian Academy, teachers stepped into their classrooms, and a campus that had spent a year waiting was a school again. After all of the planning meetings, applications, renovations, hiring, fundraising, supply lists, late nights, unexpected obstacles, and countless decisions required to get here, children were finally sitting inside those classrooms. That's the part that matters most.

Starting Small and Building Something Lasting

ACA is beginning its first year as a K–6 school, but we're building with the future in mind. As our students grow, we plan to grow with them, eventually expanding one grade at a time toward a full K–12 academy. That means there is still plenty of work ahead of us. There are classrooms to continue improving, programs to build, extracurricular opportunities to develop, resources to secure, and traditions that haven't even been created yet.

But that's also what makes this season so exciting. We're watching the beginning happen in real time.

The students walking these halls today will be able to say they were among the first Eagles. Our teachers are establishing traditions future classes may inherit. Our families are helping shape the culture of a school that we hope will serve this community for generations. Even the things that feel ordinary right now — the first classroom decorations, the first school pictures, the first announcements, the first activities — are becoming pieces of ACA history.

And when we think about where this campus was only a year ago, it's hard not to appreciate just how much can change when people decide that something is worth fighting for.

This One Belongs to Everybody

Eleven86 Real Artesian Water has always believed that being part of a community means doing more than operating a business within it. Autaugaville is our home, and as we've grown, we've had the privilege of investing back into the people and places that helped make our own story possible. Through MRaine River Association, that commitment has taken many forms over the years, but helping preserve this campus and give it a new purpose may be one of the most meaningful chapters we've experienced yet.

We are incredibly proud of what has been accomplished, but even more grateful for how it was accomplished. This school exists today because an entire network of people chose to care. Our community cared. Our churches cared. Our educators cared. Our local leaders cared. Our businesses and organizations cared. Our families cared. People with no obligation to help showed up anyway, and again and again, we watched a need turn into somebody else's opportunity to serve.

Most importantly, we give God the glory for carrying this vision from something we could only imagine into something we can now walk through, photograph, hear, and experience. What once felt impossibly far away is now morning drop-off, teachers preparing lessons, children learning, and an Eagle proudly sitting outside a school with a new name.

Autaugaville has a school again, and we could not be more proud to call it Autaugaville Christian Academy.

A Moment Worth Keeping

Of course, a moment this special deserved to be documented. Throughout our Open House, we captured photographs of the people, organizations, families, and friends who came to celebrate alongside us. Some are polished; some are candid; and some simply capture those little moments that made the day feel like ours.

We've shared a selection of those photographs throughout this Highlight, but we didn't want the rest sitting unseen in a camera roll. The full gallery is available below in high quality for our guests and community to browse, download, save, and share. If you spot yourself, your family, your organization, or simply a photograph you love, please take it with you. These memories belong to the community that helped create them.

To everyone who walked through our doors, donated, volunteered, prayed, encouraged, shared a resource, made a phone call, taught a child, supported a family, or believed this could happen: thank you. There is no single photograph capable of fitting everyone who helped us reach this week, but we hope this collection captures at least a little of the love that surrounded it.

The doors are open. The classrooms are full. The Eagles are here.

And after everything it took to get to this moment, we couldn't imagine a better beginning.

Welcome home, Eagles. 🦅💙💛