Superintendent Mitch Young announces five finalists for 2026 Teacher of the Year
Forsyth County Schools announced five finalists for the 2026 Teacher of the Year; Superintendent Mitch Young made surprise school visits, though the district's materials list both Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 as announcement dates.
1. Finalist 1, name not provided in supplied materials
Forsyth County Schools announced five finalists for the 2026 Teacher of the Year, but the supplied district and news materials do not include individual names; Forsyth County News is cited as carrying the full list and details. The district material states, verbatim, “Finalists will be announced on February 12, 2026, via surprise school visits from Superintendent Mitch Young and district leadership,” and also contains the line “Thursday, February 19, District Announces 5 TOTY Finalists,” a duplicate/conflicting date the district did not explain. The district explicitly notes that “Finalists are the top five (5) candidates based on highest application and observation video scores,” confirming that this unnamed finalist is among the top-scoring candidates from the earlier rounds.
2. Finalist 2, name not provided in supplied materials
Each of the five finalists emerged from a multi-step process that began at the school level; Round One required school-level TOTY applications to be submitted “by 5:00 PM on Monday, October 13, 2025.” A panel described as “respected community members and educators from Forsyth County” used a standardized rubric to assess applications and narrow the field to twenty semi-finalists, who “will be notified via email on November 12, 2025.” This finalist therefore passed the school-selection threshold and landed in the top 20 by application score before advancing toward the five-person finalist set.
3. Finalist 3, name not provided in supplied materials
Round Two required semi-finalists to produce a classroom observation video that directly affected selection to the final five: semi-finalists were instructed to submit a classroom observation video (maximum 30 minutes) “by 5:00 PM on January 20, 2026,” and to save the file using the example format “last name first name school (ex. Smith Mary SFHS Classroom Observation Video).” The district materials make clear that the observation video contributed to scoring, and that the five finalists are chosen based on the highest application and observation video scores, so this finalist’s video and application were among the highest-rated in those categories.
4. Finalist 4, name not provided in supplied materials
All five finalists will advance to Round Three interviews and presentations: the district scheduled interviews for “Tuesday, February 24, Committee Members Interview TOTY Finalists,” with each finalist participating in a 45-minute panel interview and preparing a five-minute speech on a provided topic. The district text states verbatim that “The five (5) finalists will participate in a 45-minute panel interview and prepare a five-minute speech on a provided topic and interview with school leadership, district leadership, community members, and prior teachers of the year.” The 2026 FCS TOTY will be selected based on “the highest cumulative score from the application, video, speech, and interview,” so this finalist’s performance across all four components will determine whether they become the district winner.
5. Finalist 5, name not provided in supplied materials
The district plans a public Celebration of Excellence on “Friday, March 13, Celebration of Excellence: Community Recognition of school-level TOTYs and Announcement of 2026 District TOTY (11:30 AM – 1 PM),” and the selected 2026 FCS TOTY “will begin their term of service on March 13, 2026, and will be eligible to participate in the Georgia TOTY program.” Important gaps remain: the five finalists’ names, schools, grade levels, subject areas and biographical details are not included in the materials provided; the district did not supply weightings for each scoring component; and the Feb. 12 vs. Feb. 19 announcement dates are presented without clarification. Reporter follow-ups needed before publication include obtaining the finalists’ names and school assignments (Forsyth County News or district press release), confirming whether Feb. 12 were surprise in-school visits and Feb. 19 was a formal district announcement (or which date is authoritative), requesting quotes from Superintendent Mitch Young and finalists about the surprise visits, and securing the full rubric showing how application, video, speech and interview are weighted.
- The district’s guidelines and schedule include explicit timeline items and logistics: school-level application deadline Oct. 13, 2025 (5:00 PM); semi-finalist notification Nov. 12, 2025; video deadline Jan. 20, 2026 (5:00 PM); interview date Feb. 24, 2026; and Celebration of Excellence March 13, 2026 (11:30 AM–1:00 PM). Finalist interview times are 45 minutes, and the prepared speech is five minutes.
- The materials also preserve verbatim scheduling lines: “Finalists will be announced on February 12, 2026, via surprise school visits from Superintendent Mitch Young and district leadership.”; “Thursday, February 19, District Announces 5 TOTY Finalists”; “Tuesday, February 24, Committee Members Interview TOTY Finalists”; and “Friday, March 13, Celebration of Excellence: Community Recognition of school-level TOTYs and Announcement of 2026 District TOTY (11:30 AM – 1 PM).”
- The Forsythnews excerpt included index slugs; the supplied list (verbatim as provided) contains entries such as: 09032025SCHOOL LEVEL TOTY; 11042025CUMMING ELECTION DAY; 02182026FATAL FIRE; 12092025Donald Carroll; 10012025NICHE FCS RANKING; 02112026BUTCHER & BREW FAIL; 10222024CUMMING CITY CENTER; 02182026MARDI GRAS; 02172026GUTHRIES CLOSED; 02172026PET SUPPLIES DRIVE THROUGH; 02212026REGION BASKETBALL; 02212026WEST BASEBALL; 02212026RIVALRY LACROSSE; 02182026EAST BASEBALL; 02182026EAST BASKETBALL; 01152026HOWITZER; 07252025FORSYTH COUNTY HOUSING MARKET; 10182025NO KINGS; 09112025CHARLIE KIRK; and repetitions of some slugs including “09032025SCHOOL LEVEL TOTY.” No finalist names or profiles were included in that excerpt.
- For broader context on teacher-of-the-year programs outside the district, the compiled materials also preserved AAFCS national finalist information such as: Lanier Lebby Alston, Hand Middle School, South Carolina Affiliate, “Teacher of the Year Merit Finalist” with program title “Scarves of Comfort” and 23 years of Family and Consumer Sciences teaching experience; Sarah Catherine Fowler, CNWE, Decatur High School, Georgia Affiliate, “Culinary Arts in the Real-World”; and Shawna Wilson, CFCS, MN, Shakopee High School, Minnesota Affiliate, listed as 2026 AAFCS National Teacher of the Year with program “The Capstone Experience: From Awareness to Action – Cultivating Leaders and Creating Change.” The materials also preserved an ACTE social post: “Congratulations to Matthew Waynee of Los Angeles, CA, named Teacher of the Year by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE).”
Additional context preserved from the source materials
- Publish the five finalists’ names, school assignments, grade levels and subject areas in the district announcement and on the district website.
- Clarify the Feb. 12 vs. Feb. 19 announcement entries and specify whether Feb. 12 were surprise school visits while Feb. 19 is the public district announcement.
- Release the scoring rubric or at least the weighting for application, classroom observation video, speech and interview to increase transparency around how the “highest cumulative score” is calculated.
- Provide media access details and the precise time during the March 13 Celebration of Excellence when the district TOTY will be announced.
What the district should make public next (recommended immediate transparency items)
Reporter’s note: The district and Forsyth County News are the primary holders of the missing finalist names and biographical details; obtaining those items and comments from Superintendent Mitch Young will enable full finalist profiles and community reaction.
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