East Forsyth High School releases 2026 graduates, ceremony set for May 16

East Forsyth High School’s Class of 2026 will be recognized at the Cumming Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m., a milestone that caps a year of senior events, college planning and final preparations across the East Forsyth community.

Families were told the fairground gates would open at 8 a.m., and each graduate received 10 tickets for guests. Seniors were instructed to arrive no later than 8 a.m. for staging and to park off Tolbert Street using their graduation parking pass, a logistics plan designed to keep the morning moving in the crowded hours before the ceremony begins.

For relatives who could not get into Cumming in person, East Forsyth planned to stream the ceremony on YouTube, extending the celebration beyond the fairgrounds. The school’s senior calendar showed how much of the year had already been built around this class, with Apply to College Day, Financial Aid Night, Senior Awards Night, Senior Picnic, Baccalaureate and Senior Sunset all leading toward graduation day.

The school’s senior sponsors for the Class of 2026 were Abbie Adams and Allison Rinehart, who helped guide students through the final stretch of the year. East Forsyth describes its culture as “The East Way,” centered on relationships, respect and teamwork, and that message has framed the senior year as much as any academic deadline or ceremony detail.

The finish line did not end with the diplomas. East Forsyth scheduled diploma pickup in the counseling office for May 18-22 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an additional limited window on May 26 until 11:45 a.m. Forsyth County Schools also reminded graduating seniors to request final transcripts for colleges and employers, meet housing-deposit or job-paperwork deadlines and clear outstanding fees before leaving high school.

The ceremony lands in a fast-growing district that says it serves more than 54,000 students across eight high schools, with enrollment up 40% over the past decade. For East Forsyth, the release of the 2026 graduates is more than a roster update: it marks the point where one class moves out of the hallways and into the next chapter, with Cumming Fairgrounds set as the stage for the handoff.