Forsyth County students place among nation’s best in Math Kangaroo contest

Forsyth County Schools put 29 students from 14 schools into the top ten nationally in the Math Kangaroo International Contest, a result that points to a broad math pipeline across the district rather than one isolated success story. Nine of those students also finished among the top three in their grade levels.

The contest drew 60,504 students from across the United States on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Math Kangaroo USA said 7,658 students earned Top 20 national rankings and 2,182 earned Top 3 state rankings. Forsyth students were recognized at a state awards ceremony on May 16, with local award ceremonies scheduled throughout May and June.

The Georgia state winners page identified a long list of Forsyth-linked honorees: Ayansh Balakrishnan of Daves Creek Elementary School, Daniel Li of Big Creek Elementary, Ethan Zou of Brookwood Elementary, Jayvardhan Shankar and Shrey Kesharwani of Sawnee Elementary, Maneet Arakere of George Whitlow Elementary School, Sathvik Muttangi of DeSana Middle School, and Evan Anderson and Kellen Lack, both listed through Forsyth County Schools. The district said the honorees came from a wide cross-section of campuses, including Big Creek, Brookwood, Daves Creek, Johns Creek, Kelly Mill, Mashburn, Matt, Midway, New Hope, Sawnee, Sharon, Whitlow Elementary Schools, along with DeSana Middle School and South Forsyth Middle School.

That spread matters in a district that serves more than 54,000 students in 42 schools, including 23 elementary schools, 11 middle schools and 8 high schools. Forsyth County Schools says its students represent 129 different countries and 69 languages, and the Math Kangaroo results suggest that academic competition is taking root across that diversity, not just at a single magnet campus or in one part of the county.

For families looking for the same kind of enrichment path, Math Kangaroo USA is a K-12 competition built around inventive, challenging problem-solving. Its 2026 flyer says every participant receives a ribbon, a small gift and an electronic certificate of participation, while top performers may receive medals, in-kind prizes, college grants and invitations to math camps. In Forsyth, those incentives appear to be feeding a culture where classroom instruction, teacher encouragement and family support are pushing students into national-caliber math competition.