South Georgia Times

There were 8,605 African American students enrolled in Lowndes County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 1.5% more than the previous year, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

Data showed that Lowndes County school districts welcomed 18,231 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American students comprised 47.2% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county's school districts.

The main offices of all school districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Lowndes County.

While enrollment in Georgia inches closer to pre-pandemic levels, chronic absenteeism remains a serious challenge. In 2023, a significant portion of students (23%) missed 10% or more of their classes. Although this is slightly better than the peak of 25% in 2022, it's still nearly double the pre-pandemic rate of 13% recorded in 2019.

District	% African American students	Total enrollment
Lowndes County	24%	10,250
Valdosta City	77%	7,981