By Hamilton Richardson
Elmore/Autauga News
Top Photo: Cathy Loftin and Dr. Rachel Surles are both retiring after long careers in the Autauga County School system.
During the most recent Autauga County Board of Education meeting, it was announced by the school superintendent, who was visibly affected by the news, that two of the district’s major players, Cathy Loftin and Dr. Rachel Surles, would be soon retiring from the school system.
Loftin, who is the system’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Elementary Supervisor, and Surles, the Director of Federal Programs, Assessment and Accountability, sat down for a dual interview a few days later, and shared a peek into their careers and into their futures.
“I came to the Autauga County school system 18 years ago when my husband came on staff at First Baptist Church,” Loftin said, referring to Mitch Loftin who is the church’s Worship and Pastoral Care Pastor.
She went on to say that she had previously been a teacher in Montgomery public schools for 10 years and was also an Assistant Principal at one school.
“I had always wanted to teach in the area. I had heard so much about it and when my husband came here to work, I thought I’ll open up a personnel folder here with the district never dreaming that three months later, I’d be called to interview for Pine Level (Elementary),” she explained. “They needed an Assistant Principal. I was there three years as Assistant and served the next nine as Principal.”
Loftin shared that Pine Level was a significant growing experience for her including learning about the day-to-day responsibilities, technical skills and operational aspects of a school.
“It grew me up,” she said. “What I desired was to build the climate and culture. I wanted to build a family. So that mattered to me. The academics, the acceptance, the camaraderie. The human aspect of it all. We worked really hard to develop that over the next nine years and we got there. Those are the things I remembered most and cherish. You don’t forget family.”
Loftin said she is grateful that, in her words, “they took a chance on this girl.”
The director laid out how she got from the school to the Central Office.
“I came to Central Office in 2016,” she said. “My desire in going to Central Office was to be able to offer schools a path to continuous improvement with materials, human resources, training the right people. I was the Administrator of Curriculum and Instruction, then it morphed into more responsibility in Secondary and Elementary. Now I’m the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Elementary Supervisor. I wanted to have some influence on a larger platform and help others.”
Loftin points to teamwork as the reason the system has excelled, despite some setbacks and struggles.
“We had the resilience of people who loved their craft and wanted to hone their craft and be the best at their craft,” she said. “It’s our job to support them and to help them become better and it’s because of them that this district has moved forward. Not because of us at the Central Office and not because of me. It’s a team effort. Our motto is Advance Autauga County. I pray for that to continue.”
As far as what’s next, Loftin has some pretty big plans.
“We are shifting our ministry,” she said, referring to the plans she and her husband have moving forward. “We’ve been in full-time music ministry for 40 years. We are shifting into pastoral care and senior adult ministry, so that will give me an opportunity to do more there because we are a team.
Loftin is also a Chaplain with the Alabama State Board of Missions Disaster Relief.
“It will give me more opportunity to deploy out for catastrophic events or in crisis,” she commented.
The educator didn’t want to leave out the time she plans to share with her grandchildren and joked with Surles about cooking lessons.
“She doesn’t need lessons from me,” Loftin said, to which Surles responded, “I better get those cooking lessons.”
There are two big things Loftin takes from her long career, she explained.
“Never underestimate the capacity of teachers having the resilience to overcome difficult challenges,” she said. “Society is not the same. Teachers used to be esteemed but they’re not as respected as before. Also, the resiliency of children to learn. From the least fortunate and those with the least amount of opportunities, to the most able. There is a tremendous capacity to grow.”
Loftin once again referred to her friend and compatriot.
“If we didn’t have people like Rachel Surles and everything she has done for this district, otherwise we’d be all over the place,” she said.
“She’s one of the people who makes us all look better,” Surles said in response to Loftin’s comment. “She’s so eloquent.”
Dr. Rachel Surles also began her career in education in Montgomery County.
“After college, I got hired in Montgomery,” he said. “I was four years teaching in Montgomery.”
Surles said in 1997, after getting married, she came to Autauga County and built a house on the Alabama River.
“I am a river rat at heart,” she said. “I didn’t know anything about the school district but Autaugaville School was 10 minutes from my house, so I requested it. It was the best decision I’ve ever made, beside marrying my husband and having my child. It was the highlight of my career.”
Surles was a Reading Coach, taught Second Grade and was a School Improvement Specialist in Autaugaville.
An opportunity came, after her mentor and pair teacher passed away, for Surles to move into the Central Office.
“When one door closes, another one opens, “said Surles, who had been deeply affected by the death of her friend.
While at Central Office, Surles met Janice Stockman, who is currently the Principal at Prattville Junior High, and they became fast friends
“I moved from School Improvement Specialist in the school to the district level because of No Child Left Behind,” she said. “I progressed into that level. My job was to assist the schools in school improvement.”
As the years passed, Surles got her certification in Leadership and her doctorate in Leadership Policy and Law.
“I was Interim Principal at Prattville Primary but that wasn’t my lane,” she said. “That wasn’t my calling. I’ve always seen myself in more of a support role. How I can support teachers. How I can support principals.”
Her School Improvement Specialist job morphed into Federal Programs Administrator and then morphed again into the Director of Federal Programs, Assessment and Accountability.
“I help schools make sure they are following federal guidelines,” she said. If I’m looking at the data and analyzing the data, then I give it to Cathy (Loftin) and I say, we’re having a problem in a particular area then she can take the resources that she has available and the knowledge and improve instruction and design an intervention plan that needs to happen. It’s really a partnership.”
As far as her retirement, Surles said, “I wasn’t really thinking about it but then when I decided, it was really a leap of faith. I’m taking a position at the Military Child Education Coalition as Community Coordinator for the Montgomery area. That’s going to allow me to continue my work as a military liaison, not for the school system, but for the River Region area.”
It will come as no surprise that Surles will also be spending as much time as she can in Autaugaville.
“I will continue to be involved in the Autaugaville school. I can’t let it go,” she said. “Once an eagle, always an eagle. I have such a love for that school. I love the community.”
As far as the highlights of her career, beside working at the Chapter One building with Janice Stockman and her love for Autaugaville, Surles said she has a real sense of gratitude for the people she said God has put in her life.
“The biggest takeaway is relationships with people,” she commented. “God uses people to impact us in ways we weren’t expecting.”
With a smile on her face, Surles added, “And I’m going to get those cooking lessons.”
