“We’re Going to Change This City”: How One Alabama Educator Turned a Million-Dollar Vision into a Lifeline for Families 

The Rock Academy didn’t start with a classroom or a whiteboard. It started with a campfire. 

Before launching the school, Christy Marchetti had spent more than two decades in public education including roles as a director of professional learning and supervisor of new teachers in the second-largest city in Georgia. She trained principals, shaped district-wide curriculum, and even attended Harvard’s School Turnaround Program. 

“I was two years away from being fully vested in my retirement,” Marchetti said. “I had worked my way up. They had poured so much into me.” 

She loved her job. But in April 2021, during a camping trip with close friends and her longtime pastor, something shifted. They were brainstorming how to help families struggling after the pandemic, especially students who were falling through the cracks. 

“We just started kicking around ideas,” Marchetti said. “And my pastor looked at me and said, ‘I don’t think God wants to do it in you—I think He wants to do it through you.’ That moment changed everything.”  

That summer, Marchetti helped launch a homeschool cohort at her church in Phenix City, Alabama, a community where nearly one in four residents lives below the poverty line and median household income falls below the state average. 

“It’s a city in need of hope,” Marchetti said. “And I knew education could be the way we brought that.” 

At first, she had no plans to leave her full-time role in Georgia. But as families with children who had special needs, had been bullied, or had never attended traditional school reached out, she realized this wasn’t a side project. It was a calling. 

“I wasn’t running from something bad,” she said. “I felt like God had been preparing me for something, and this was it.” 

Marchetti officially founded The Rock Academy in 2021 with 67 students. Most came from families who couldn’t afford tuition. 

“Our very first year, we were raising money nonstop,” Marchetti said. “I had to bring in over $200,000 just to keep the doors open.” 

 Tuition was set at $4,000 per student. Marchetti believed that amount was something families in the community might be able to manage, but she quickly realized even that was out of reach for most. 

To ease the burden, she offered discounted tuition to families who enrolled that first year. 

“They were taking a chance on me and on The Rock, and I wanted to honor that,” Marchetti said. “We were committed to not turning kids away.” 

That commitment was made possible, in large part, by a generous $1 million grant the school received in its founding year. The donation gave The Rock the runway it needed to launch, covering essentials like curriculum, staffing, and basic operations while Marchetti worked tirelessly to raise the rest. 

“That grant was a miracle,” she said. “It gave us the stability to start something bold. But it didn’t cover everything. Every single month, we were still fundraising to fill the gaps.” 

Even today, The Rock raises hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to support students. That early investment and the faith that inspired it helped lay the foundation for what the school has become. 

One of those early students was Cody*, a boy with autism living in the trailer park next door to the school. Raised by his grandmother, Cody*’s family survives on $14,000 a year from Social Security. Public school had been overwhelming, and without scholarships, The Rock would have been out of reach. 

“But there’s no way he would’ve made it in a traditional setting,” Marchetti said. “Now he’s got friends. He’s on the soccer team. He’s thriving.” 

There are dozens of stories like Cody*’s. Marchetti told of a high school junior who had been raised in a bedroom, never attending school until this year. Now, he’s not only caught up academically, but he’s excelling in baseball and talking about going to college for the first time. 

“We’re not turning kids away,” she said. “We take kids with autism, kids with trauma, kids who’ve been bullied, kids whose parents are in recovery. These are the kids who need second chances.” 

The Rock’s work goes beyond education. Through a sister nonprofit called Freedom Farm, Marchetti and her team support children that aren’t being raised by their biological parents. Teachers and church members have gone through foster certification to provide care themselves. These same children often attend The Rock. 

“It’s wraparound ministry,” Marchetti said. “We’re not just a school. We’re trying to change this city.” 

The school’s growth speaks for itself. From 67 students in year one to 399 students projected for next year. That expansion has forced them to move beyond their church building and into a new facility—one that will allow them to serve even more families. But with that growth comes the challenge of affordability.  

Marchetti is clear: The Rock has never had an abundance of financial resources. The school has relied on grassroots fundraising and a tight-knit network of donors. But even with incredible growth, they are constantly at capacity. 

“This year we had 210 kids apply, and we couldn’t take them all,” she said. “We didn’t have the room.” 

Enter Alabama’s CHOOSE Act. 

Last fall, seven students at The Rock received CHOOSE scholarships. More than 150 additional current students qualified, but limited funding meant many had to be turned away or couldn’t stay. 

“We’re not asking for extras,” Marchetti said. “We’re asking for what we need to serve the kids no one else is built to serve.” 

In April, Alabama lawmakers approved a $12.1 billion education budget, nearly doubling funding for the CHOOSE Act from $100 million to $180 million when applications for the program more than doubled their projections. That investment means more children across Alabama will have access to flexible education savings accounts and it opens doors for schools like The Rock to serve students who would otherwise be left without options. 

“This changes everything for us,” Marchetti said. “Now we can keep saying yes to the families who need us most.” 

Marchetti’s story is one of extraordinary faith and daily perseverance. She’s candid about the struggles—both personal and professional—and honest about the weight of leading a school built on second chances. 

“I grew up right off Highway 80,” she said. “I don’t have wealthy friends. I don’t have a network of big donors. But I do have faith.” 

With CHOOSE now fully funded, Marchetti is focused on the students who have finally found a place where they are seen, supported, and celebrated. 

“Our kids are going to change this city,” she said. “We just need the chance to keep showing up for them.” 

Editor’s Note: The name “Cody” has been changed to protect the student’s privacy.