Monday, March 16, 2026 12:52 PM EDT
Students open their lockers at the Christian Academy of Indiana’s new middle school facility. The school system recently finished construction on the expansion project. (Photo provided by Christian Academy of Indiana)
NEW ALBANY, Ind. – Students at Christian Academy of Indiana are settling into a newly opened middle school building on the school’s New Albany campus.
The two-story facility, which serves fifth through eighth graders, opened earlier this month and now houses about 400 students and 35 faculty members. The building includes classrooms, labs and collaborative learning spaces designed specifically for middle school students.
Superintendent Darin Long said the moment students first walked through the doors was memorable.
“It was great to see all those smiles on the faces when they came walking in,” Long said in an interview with Inside INdiana Business. “Very exciting time. You don’t get to see that very often in a career — a whole brand-new school opening.”
The expansion comes as Christian Academy of Indiana experiences significant enrollment growth. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the campus had about 700 students. That number has grown to around 1,300 this school year.
Long said several factors contributed to the increase, including long-term community growth, shifting priorities for families after the pandemic and Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program.
Originally, school leaders planned a smaller building that would open in August 2025. However, after reviewing enrollment trends, Long said administrators paused the project and redesigned the facility to nearly double its size.
Construction ultimately produced a 44,000-square-foot facility connected to existing campus buildings. The expansion also included improvements such as additional cafeteria space and traffic flow upgrades.
Teachers and students are enjoying the new space Long said.
“One student, my favorite said, ‘Ooh, this is Gucci,’” he said. “I had to make sure that was a good thing, which it is.”
Long speaks more on student and teacher reactions to the new middle school facility.
During construction, the school temporarily relocated its fifth-grade class to nearby Graceland Baptist Church, about five miles away. Students were bused there for daily classes before returning to the main campus for electives and extracurricular activities.
The exterior of Christian Academy of Indiana’s middle school wing. (Photo provided by Christian Academy of Indiana)
The new building also introduces a different structure for middle school grades. Fifth and sixth graders share the first floor, while seventh and eighth graders are on the second floor. The arrangement is designed to ease the transition from elementary school to middle school.
“Most students go from one teacher in fifth grade to seven in sixth grade,” Long said. “So we thought if we could take that over a two-year time frame, that that would be better for the kids.”
Long said the goal of the expansion is to continue meeting demand from families seeking Christian education in the region.
“We want to come along other Christian families and partner with them to help disciple their children,” Long said.
Christian Academy School System operates campuses in both southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, serving about 3,200 students across the two states. The Indiana campus opened in 2005 after two local Christian schools merged to create the current preschool-through-12th grade campus.
Next year, the system will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
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