Due to the flood damages, arrangements were made for classes to continue at temporary locations.
Pre-K through 4th-grade students have been attending classes at Central Christian Church and 5th through 12th graders have been at Grand Avenue Baptist Church for almost six weeks.
According to the Head of School, Ricky Massengale, the faculty, staff, students and families are looking forward to getting back on campus.
"We’re extremely excited and anxious to be back home," Massengale said. "We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to prepare the campus and have a smooth transition, while the teachers have worked as diligently as they ever have in the classrooms. While none of this has been ideal, we cannot deny seeing how God has been evident. We keep our eyes on him, work hard, and give him thanks. It will be exciting and restful to be back in our halls, in our rooms, at our desks."
The entire campus has been declared "Safe" by ServPro. The school will host a "Re-Union" celebration and ribbon-cutting Monday, (Oct. 7) at 10:30 a.m with a reception to follow.
Lt. Governor Tim Griffin and Fort Smith Mayor George McGill will be attending and speaking at the ribbon-cutting.
Local church and community leaders and ambassadors from the city’s Chamber of Commerce will also be in attendance.
Union Christian will host its own “See You at the Pole” service at 7:15 a.m as well as a school pep rally from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in celebration of the campus reopening.
Many organizations and individuals made contributions to help Christian Union Academy get back on campus and over $44,000 was donated to support the school.
During remodeling and repairs, the school encountered losses of income in different departments such as cafeteria and athletics.
Other expenses included insurance deductibles, temporary relocation incidentals, replacement of classroom and administrative materials and incidentals.
School Board President, Dr. Dan Mackey said, "We would like to thank ServPro, Davis Floor Covering, and the entire remodeling team who all have been instrumental in rebuilding the school in such a short period of time. Furthermore, we would like to thank all of Fort Smith and the entire River Valley for their prayers and support ever since our school was impacted by the flash flood. Finally, we are extremely grateful to our donors who continue to support the school financially so that Union may continue to produce highly educated disciples of Christ to further God's Kingdom in our community and beyond. Union Christian Academy is honored to be the only PreK through 12th grade fully accredited private Christian school in Fort Smith, and we will continue our ongoing mission to serve our community."