Dougherty County Schools Calendar 2026–2027

Dougherty County Schools serves Albany and the surrounding county through three ordinary comprehensive high schools and their neighborhood feeders. Its 12,384 K–12 students are assigned first by address, even though the directory also contains magnet, charter, career and alternative names that operate outside the standard zones.

The district describes its magnet offerings as non-zoned programs with their own entry requirements. Admission to Lamar Reese Magnet School of the Arts, International Studies Elementary Charter and other specialized settings may depend on applications, eligibility rules or limited seats. Those schools should not be added to the geographic feeder map as though they serve another section of the county.

At the secondary level, career and nontraditional programs create the same need for careful classification. A student can belong to a neighborhood high school while attending a specialized program or course setting. Dougherty’s useful dividing line is not “regular” versus “academy” in the school name. It is whether the child reaches the setting through the home address, a program application or an alternative-placement decision.