Sallas Mahone Elementary

As a roomy primary school in Valdosta, Georgia, Sallas Mahone Elementary works with 1,045 students from grades pre-K through 5, run under Valdosta City. Enrollment runs roughly 73% above the state mean of about 605.

Valdosta City comprises 8 schools with combined enrollment of 8,247 students; Sallas Mahone Elementary is among them.

On the student-mix side, Sallas Mahone Elementary shows that 69% of the student body identifies as Black. Beyond that, the school lists 12% White, 10% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 4% Asian. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 37%.

On the income-and-resources front, The school employs 72 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.5:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.3:1 average. An estimated 81% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, Sallas Mahone Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 35.4%; this one delivers 30.8%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Lowndes County indicate the typical household earns roughly $58,541 per year, 28% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 14%. In all, Lowndes County runs 20 public schools (combined enrollment of about 19,812 students), of which Sallas Mahone Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Dewar Elementary, around 1.4 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Sallas Mahone Elementary ranks 5th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 37.4%.

Sallas Mahone Elementary operates from a city-core location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Sallas Mahone Elementary has decreased 10%, going from 1,155 students in 2018 to 1,045 in 2025. The White share of enrollment shrank from 27% to 12% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 16.4:1 in 2018 to 14.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.