Community Partners in Education (CPIE) is a combined effort of the Lowndes County School System, the Valdosta City School System, and the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce, whose purpose is to encourage greater student achievement in school systems by developing partnerships between individual schools and area businesses, industries, civic, church and community groups. 

CPIE was only a dream in 1989.  A task force of ten community (business, education, and Chamber) members worked throughout the year to create CPIE.  The group created the name, the logo, the colors and the purpose for the program.  In April of 1990 the first CPIE meeting was held with 75 businesses, civic groups, and churches in attendance. 

Today, CPIE has a total of over 425 partnerships and new partnerships continue to be formed each year.  From spending an hour each week tutoring a student in reading to landscaping a schoolyard, to making presentations on career readiness, CPIE partners make a positive contribution by helping to better prepare the leaders of tomorrow – our children.