The Fayette County Board of Education was again honored for the school system’s innovation with the 2023 Georgia School Boards Association Leading Edge Award.

The Leading Edge Award honors innovative design and implementation of projects and programs, and Fayette County won the award for the Food Forest at Flat Rock Middle. The Food Forest program includes a fully-organic, quarter-acre working garden, with a compost row, an aquaponics pond, an orchard, and an emotional wellness walk maintained by students.

Applicants were required to provide a 750 word description of their entry, three to five artifacts supporting the description, and three to five community letters of support describing the impact of the program. Entries were rated and scored by a third party outside of the Georgia School Boards Association.

The Fayette County Board of Education consists of chairman Roy Rabold, vice chairman Scott Hollowell,  Brian Anderson, Dr. Regina Daigre, and Randy Hough.