Forsyth County Schools spotlights Isabella Rappaccioli as 2026 CTAE Student of the Year

Forsyth County Schools used Isabella Rappaccioli’s 2026 CTAE Student of the Year honor to make a larger point about how it wants families and employers to view career education in the county. The district’s awards hub did not frame CTAE as an add-on. It presented it as a core academic pathway built on an ongoing partnership between education and business and industry.

That message matters in a school system that says it serves more than 54,000 students across 42 schools, including 23 elementary schools, 11 middle schools and 8 high schools. In Forsyth County, CTAE is described as a route that can prepare students to meet world-class standards, continue lifelong learning and enter the marketplace as productive citizens. The district says those pathways can lead to an industry-recognized certificate, licensure and possible post-secondary credit, giving students tangible credentials before graduation.

The district also says its Career Technical Student Organizations are co-curricular leadership programs tied directly to instruction, competitive events and current curriculum standards. That structure is important because it shows CTAE is not being treated as a separate track for a small group of students. It is being embedded into coursework so students can see the real-world value of what they study in class.

Forsyth County Schools has spent more than a decade building that bridge to local employers. Workforce Forsyth launched in 2014 through a partnership with the Forsyth County Chamber, Lanier Technical College and the University of North Georgia. The district has cast that collaboration as part of its effort to connect classroom learning with the county’s economic future, especially as students move toward the workforce, the military or post-secondary education.

The 2026 gala materials widen that picture further, pointing to career clusters in agriculture, engineering, culinary arts, health science, information technology and marketing. That breadth shows why the district is using Rappaccioli’s recognition as a public example of what CTAE is meant to produce: students who are not only earning awards, but also building skills that translate into recognized pathways after high school.

The district’s approach follows a familiar pattern from its earlier CTAE celebration. In March 2025, WSB-TV reported that the prior Students of the Year event was held at the FoCAL Center in Cumming and honored students in architecture and construction, culinary arts and health sciences, with parents, teachers, staff and classmates in attendance. With Rappaccioli now in the spotlight, Forsyth County Schools is again showing that CTAE is central to how it defines student success.