Woodfin praises Autauga County Schools' growth, resilience and graduation successes

Autauga County Schools wrapped up the school year with a set of concrete markers that families can measure: 13 school-level Teachers of the Year, 56 new employees hired or vacancies filled in April board meetings, and an expanded K-12 virtual school for local students. Superintendent Lyman Woodfin paired those numbers with a closing message focused on graduation, retiree recognition and what he called the district’s steady work to finish strong.

The district said it serves nearly 9,000 students across 14 campuses in Autaugaville, Billingsley, Pine Level, Marbury and Prattville. Woodfin, who became superintendent in July 2023 after nearly two decades in the system as a teacher, coach and administrator, used his May update to frame the year as one of growth and resilience rather than a single headline result.

That framing mattered because the district has spent the spring balancing celebration with planning. On May 6, Woodfin told a State of Schools audience that the worst-case annual funding estimate for a new Prattville High School would be about $9 million, and he said Autauga County Schools had requested $6 million from the City of Prattville as part of a possible funding partnership. Those figures place the district’s long-term facilities needs at the center of its financial outlook, even as it closes out the current year.

Woodfin also put graduation at the center of the year-end message. The district said the Class of 2026 is the first class affected by Alabama’s updated high school diploma pathway requirements, adding another layer to the stakes for seniors leaving Autauga County Schools this spring. In his update, Woodfin said the district’s graduating seniors were moving on with the knowledge, skills and values they developed in local schools, and he thanked this year’s retirees for service that made a lasting difference in countless lives.

The district’s recognition of 13 Teachers of the Year, alongside its spring hiring round, also underscored the personnel side of the school year. Autauga County Schools announced the honorees with help from the Autauga Education Foundation, the Alabama Education Association and the Prattville Chamber of Commerce, signaling that classroom performance and staff morale remain major priorities across the system.

The virtual school expansion points in another direction: growth. Autauga County Schools said its program now operates as a K-12 virtual school for local students and can enroll tuition-free students from anywhere in Alabama, broadening the district’s reach beyond its brick-and-mortar campuses. Taken together, Woodfin’s update reads less like ceremony than a scorecard of where the district stands as it heads into the summer: staffing more stable, options wider, graduation pathways changing and facilities demands still looming. Woodfin closed by telling the community to finish strong and reminding families that every day of learning still matters.