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Forsyth County schools outline community engagement push, career-pathways and workforce strategy
Summary
Dr. Valerie Lowe told the Forsyth County Board of Education the district will expand community partnerships, roll out a volunteer platform and align career-technical pathways with state workforce initiatives, including work tied to House Bill 192 and federal Perkins funding shifts.
Dr. Valerie Lowe, director of community engagement and lifelong education, briefed the Forsyth County Board of Education on the department’s priorities for the 2025–26 school year, emphasizing partnerships, student pathways and long-range workforce planning.
“We are going to give you an update tonight, just on what we're working on as a department,” Lowe said, outlining district calendars, community events, the volunteer platform and a slate of partnership activities meant to strengthen ties between schools, families and businesses. She said the Focal Center hosted more than 550 engagements last year and will continue to be an event hub for district programs.
Lowe described the district’s effort to streamline school–business connections through a new onboarding system and a business-and-industry mapping tool tied to school zones, and said the volunteer platform will provide a single place for schools to post volunteer and donation needs. She noted a set of districtwide events — mock-interview nights, parent nights on pathways and dual-enrollment information sessions — intended to increase family access to options available in Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) and fine arts programs.
On CTAE and career pathways, Lowe said 10 schools are undergoing industry certification visits this year on a five-year review cycle and highlighted growth in Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) participation. She cited examples of student success — including a former Alliance graduate who interned at Junior Achievement and later took a job with Delta — as evidence of pathway impact.
Lowe also described long-range workforce-planning work the district is conducting with the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia and said the district will hold community visioning events and listening sessions through 2026–27. She flagged state-level changes that affect local planning: House Bill 192 (the Top State for Talent Act) and House Bill 982, and explained that some federal Perkins funds have been shifted from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor as part of a statewide streamlined plan. Lowe said the state’s “Georgia Match” initiative will send letters to juniors and seniors notifying them of institutions where they would be automatically accepted.
Why it matters: Lowe framed the changes as aligning district pathways with regional and state workforce needs, which she said can increase CCRPI points when high-demand pathways are offered locally and strengthen connections between students and employers.
What’s next: The district plans parent- and family-focused pathway nights (including an Oct. 14 session at the Focal Center), continued CTAE reviews (East Forsyth High School is scheduled for a review on Nov. 4), and broader community visioning and survey work in the 2026–27 cycle.
