Published 4:19 pm Thursday, August 27, 2026 VALDOSTA – Community Partners in Education officially kicked off the 2026-2027 school year Wednesday, bringing together Valdosta City Schools, Lowndes County Schools, local businesses, organizations and volunteers to celebrate existing partnerships and build new connections for the year ahead. The annual CPIE Training, Awards and Kick-Off was held at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. School-based CPIE coordinators began the morning with training focused on building strong, meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships between schools and the community. Community partners and school and district administrators later joined the event for the annual awards presentation, lunch and Kick-Off Expo. Established in 1990 through a collaboration between Valdosta City Schools, Lowndes County Schools and the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce, Community Partners in Education connects schools with businesses, organizations and individuals who give their time, talents and resources to support students and educators. What began with 65 founding partners has grown to nearly 250 community partners serving schools across Valdosta and Lowndes County. Each year, school-level CPIE award recipients may be nominated for overall recognition across both school systems. This year’s nominations were reviewed and scored by judges representing six states. — Small Business Partner of the Year: Kona Ice of Lowndes. — Large Business Partner of the…
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