West Elk Virtual Academy

West Elk Virtual Academy is an alternative public virtual school serving grades K-12 in Howard, Kansas, with 232 students. While part of the West Elk school district, the virtual academy is located just 0.11 miles away from the main West Elk Schools campus.

Compared to the main West Elk Schools campus, the virtual academy has seen declining 4-year graduation rates, ranging from 88.1% in 2022-2023 to just 50.0% in 2023-2024, significantly lower than the 89.5% rate at the main campus. Correspondingly, the virtual academy has higher dropout rates, ranging from 1.6% to 7.3%, compared to a consistent 1.3% at the main campus. Students at the virtual academy also have much higher chronic absenteeism, ranging from 19.7% to 42.2%, versus 19.5% at the main campus.

Academically, West Elk Virtual Academy students perform significantly worse on state assessments compared to the main West Elk Schools campus and the state average. For example, in 2024-2025, only 20% of 10th graders at the virtual academy were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 26.07% at the main campus and 37.93% statewide. The virtual academy also has much lower rates of free and reduced-price lunch recipients, ranging from 1.01% to 1.73%, compared to 56.8% at the main campus. Additionally, the student-teacher ratio at the virtual academy has been highly variable, ranging from 24.3 to 298, compared to a more consistent 10.7 ratio at the main campus.