GCPS Class of 2026: Gwinnett seniors prepare for graduation and bright futures

     The graduation stage awaits 14,802 Gwinnett seniors who will celebrate the culmination of 13 years of K-12 academic progress.

     “As we celebrate the graduating Class of 2026, we do so with immense pride and deep gratitude for all they have accomplished. This year has been one of growth, resilience, and renewed focus across our district, and our students have been at the heart of that progress,” shares GCPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Al Taylor. “Their commitment to learning, perseverance through challenges, and their readiness to embrace the future reflect the very best of Gwinnett County Public Schools. The success of this class reflects the strength of a community committed to creating stable, supportive, and engaging environments for students. As these graduates move on to their next chapter, they carry with them a solid foundation and the confidence to continue growing, achieving, and making a positive difference in their communities and beyond. Congratulations, Class of 2026!”

The senior report for the Class of 2026 shows that:

• After graduation, 78% of students report plans to continue their education by attending college or other postsecondary schools. Most graduates, or close to 86%, plan to attend college in Georgia.
• As of April 2026, these seniors have been offered more than $302.6 million in academic, athletic, and military scholarships.
• Nearly $124 million was earned for academic achievement. Gwinnett students also earned nearly $177 million in athletic scholarships and more than $2 million in scholarships tied to service academy appointments. These monetary awards do not include HOPE awards (typically, about a third of graduates), Zell Miller, Gates, Posse, or QuestBridge scholarship programs, or Pell Grants.
• The Class of 2026 also includes 4,966 Honor Graduates, students graduating with a grade point average of 90 or higher.
• More than half of our seniors—8,198—experienced the challenge and rigor of college-level Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses during high school, and 4,929 of those students earned a three or better (on a 5-point scale) on optional AP exams to earn college credit or advanced placement in college classes.
• Another group getting a head start on college is the 2,605 GCPS graduates who participated in the state’s dual-enrollment program, earning both high school and college credit.
• A total of 2,039 students will enter the workforce after high school, many armed with credentials and certificates earned through our Career Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs  and sought after by local employers. Students graduating from the district’s Academy high schools—Berkmar, Central Gwinnett, Discovery, Lanier, Meadowcreek, Shiloh, and South Gwinnett—complete high school with valuable exposure to college majors of interest and experience in potential careers.
• Brookwood High School graduates the largest class this year, with 964 graduates, followed closely by Grayson High School, 881, and North Gwinnett High School, 805.
• 35 high-achieving Gwinnett seniors earned a full scholarship through the QuestBridge National College Match program. Of the 18 Gwinnett schools with QuestBridge scholarship recipients, two schools had at least five students selected for the honor. Those schools are the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (seven) and Peachtree Ridge High School (five). College Match Scholarship recipients are admitted early to QuestBridge college partners with guaranteed, full four-year scholarships provided by QuestBridge’s 48 college partners, including top liberal arts colleges and exceptional research universities.
• Two of the nation’s 300 Gates Scholarship recipients for 2026 are GCPS students. Discovery High School and Grayson High each produced one recipient. Funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this prestigious scholarship program provides an all-expenses-paid scholarship to high-potential, low-income minority students. It also supports Scholars by engaging with them and their institutions to ensure they have access to the resources and services they need, from their first to their last day of classes, through graduation, and into their transition to their chosen careers.
• Six Gwinnett graduating seniors earned full rides as Posse Scholars. Founded in 1989, the Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who the traditional college selection processes may overlook. Posse allows these students to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams—Posses—of 10 students each. Partner colleges and universities award four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships to Posse Scholars.
• Gwinnett grads continue to answer the call to military service. Five GCPS seniors accepted appointments to one of the nation’s military service academies. A total of 514 seniors will serve their country through military service after graduation, including cadets who honed their leadership skills in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) units available at 25 GCPS high schools. Those earning academy appointments include:

 

School	Name	Service Academy
Archer HS	Dontae Samuels	United States Military Academy at West Point (Army)
Norcross HS	Sophie Katz	United States Military Academy at West Point (Army)
North Gwinnett HS	Yeonjae Lee	United States Naval Academy
North Gwinnett HS	Kalil Mazone	United States Air Force Academy
Parkview HS	Caleb Sutton	United States Air Force Academy

 

Gwinnett County Public Schools also salutes the highest-ranked students in each school, those earning the title of valedictorian or salutatorian, based on GPA. They are:

School	Valedictorian (1st in Class)	Salutatorian (2nd in Class)
Archer HS	Joshua M. Heaton	Rebecca M. Karmelin
Berkmar HS	Nghia H. Pham	Josue A. Sotelo-Gonzalez
Brookwood HS	Richard Lin	Hyo One Kaye
Central Gwinnett HS	Xenia E. Sorto	Mohammed M. Al Hameed
Collins Hill HS	Andrew Tep	Kale S. Maxwell
Dacula HS	Eliyab D. Bisrat	Sophia A. Gendlin
Discovery HS	Rebecca A. Amdetsion	Sophia G. Wieberg
Duluth HS	Oluwanifemi C. Adu	Kseniya A. Ivanova
Grayson HS	Jenna Mai	Thuy-Vy N. Phan
Gwinnett Online Campus	Tanika Saravanan	Jalal Karimov
Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology	Yohan Kim	Lucas A. Niemi
Lanier HS	William J. Simms	Oanh Bao Nguyen
McClure Health Science HS	Yasmin Munoz	Atri Roy
Meadowcreek HS	Jennifer M. Le	Anna Nguyen
Mill Creek HS	Garrett G. Sidhom	Minchan Lee
Mountain View HS	Michael J. George	Emma Jane S. Foster
Norcross HS	Joanne Lu	Eva A. Ballerstedt
North Gwinnett HS	Josh M. Chandran	Kimberly P. Hutchinson
Parkview HS	Damian S. Moss	Isabelle S. Tinker
Paul Duke STEM HS	Jack B. Dowling	Myra S. Wu
Peachtree Ridge HS	Chloe T. Nguyen	Oluwademilayo T. Akinmade
Seckinger HS	Isabelle Breazu	Dongjae Nam
Shiloh HS	Kaelyn B. Nguyen	Marguerite L. Walker
South Gwinnett HS	Blessing I. Onyeanula	Ralph D. Sylvestre