Summary:
The Idaho Virtual High School Inc. district, located in Mountain Home, ID, serves 493 students across three very different charter schools: Richard McKenna Charter School - Online (grades 9–12), Richard McKenna Charter School - Montessori (grades K–6), and Richard McKenna Charter School - Onsite (grades 7–12). The district overall holds a 2-star rating, ranking 65th out of 101 Idaho districts, but that average hides a wide gap in performance between the three campuses.
The Onsite campus is the clear standout. It ranks 42nd out of 122 Idaho high schools (3 stars) and is the only school in the district to beat the state average in ELA (58.3% vs. 54.0%) and science (50.0% vs. 42.7%), with a low student-teacher ratio of 15.8 and the highest per-student spending at $13,283. The Montessori campus excels in elementary science, posting 69.6% proficiency in 2024–2025, far above the state's 42.6%, and slightly beat the state in math that same year (45.2% vs. 43.1%). However, its overall rank slipped to the 42nd percentile in 2025–2026, and chronic absenteeism is high at 15.1%. The Online campus is the biggest concern: it ranks in the 7th percentile (0 stars), with just 21% proficiency in science and 38.4% in ELA, plus a student-teacher ratio of 35.3—more than double the other campuses. The Online school has collapsed from the 60th percentile in 2021–2022 to its current bottom-tier standing.
Several patterns stand out for parents. The district-wide chronic absenteeism rate of 3.4% is misleading; it likely reflects the Online school's flexibility, while Montessori (15.1%) and Onsite (20.2% in 2024–2025) struggle with attendance. Math is a district-wide weakness, with every campus below the state average in 2025–2026. Spending also varies dramatically, with Onsite spending nearly double per student compared with the Online and Montessori campuses. Note that free/reduced lunch data is missing, and spending figures are from 2018–2019, so those should be viewed cautiously. Overall, the Onsite campus is the strongest academic choice in the district, while the Online campus shows a serious and sustained downward trend.
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