Clarke County School District students visit the Entertainment, Sports and Event Management Pathway table at a bi-annual Future Student Fair held at Athens Community Career Academy on March 6. At the upcoming fair on Sept. 25, students interested in ACCA can explore the campus in person and learn about ACCA’s pathways, something ACCA school counselor Ariel Gordon, who has helped organize the event in past years, has valued. “The goal of hosting a Future Student Fair twice a year is to share with students, families and community members all of the pathways (and) programs (ACCA offers) so that we can get student engagement (and) interest for enrollment for next school year,” Gordon said. Photo courtesy of the CCSD
The Athens Community Career Academy will host its bi-annual Future Student Fair on Sept. 25, open to CCSD students to explore ACCA pathways and enroll in the program for the 2026-27 school year.
The Athens Community Career Academy will open its doors to all Clarke County School District students and families from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 for its bi-annual Future Student Fair.
Attendees will start in the ACCA Atrium to pick up campus maps and meet with tour guides before exploring the school. ACCA school counselors Laura Boone and Ariel Gordon, who helped organize the event, will be on–site to answer any questions about ACCA that families might have.
“(Gordon and I) get scheduling questions (about whether) students can still participate in things at their home high school (if they join ACCA and) when our pathways are offered,” Boone said. “We usually will float around, answer questions for students and families and help direct (them) to classrooms where the pathways teachers are.”
A poster containing information about the Athens Community Career Academy’s pathways and Future Student Fair is shown. The fair was organized by ACCA school counselors Laura Boone and Ariel Gordon and will give students and their families a chance to visit with pathway teachers and learn more about ACCA. “All (ACCA) staff will be present (at the fair),” Gordon said. “It’s like an open house where students get to come visit, see the building, see the labs, meet the teachers and see what pathways they might be interested in enrolling (in) next (school) year.” Graphic by Emlyn McKinney
In addition to visiting select pathway classrooms, there will also be ACCA student ambassadors in attendance, who can show visitors through each classroom and talk about their respective pathways.
“It makes a big difference to have (student ambassadors) from (the) same school (of the visiting students),” Boone said. “They can relate (to visiting students) in a different way than (ACCA staff) can as the adults in the building.”
“(ACCA relies) on getting the word out to students to let them know we exist because students have to choose to come here.”
— Ariel Gordon,
ACCA school counselor
According to Gordon, the fair is also valued by ACCA staff as a way to bring new enrollees to the program. At the fair, all current Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals High School freshmen, sophomores and juniors can apply to ACCA for the 2026-27 school year and will be notified of their enrollment status in January 2026.
“(ACCA relies) on getting the word out to students to let them know we exist because students have to choose to come here,” Gordon said. “(We want to) make sure that our doors are open, that we’re accessible and that people understand how (ACCA) works.”
