Original Research by School Decision on Astravo Online Academy Middle School
Astravo Online Academy Middle School is a full-time virtual public school serving grades six through eight. It is operated by Byers School District 32J, a rural district east of Denver that has become the administrative home for several statewide online programs. The school's address places it in Lakewood, a large suburban city west of Denver, but because this is an online school, families do not need to live in Lakewood or within the district's boundary to enroll. The district brief confirms that the school is one of multiple virtual academies authorized by Byers 32J, which gives Colorado families statewide access to a publicly funded, home-based middle school option.
The student body is large for a middle school, with enrollment spread across the three grades. The composition is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population making up roughly a third of students, and smaller shares of Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Data for the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, a gap that likely reflects the school's online structure and where it reports such data.
State testing results for this school are largely suppressed, which is common when a school's tested population is very small relative to its enrollment. In math, a very low share of enrolled students participated in the state assessment, and the proficiency rate was suppressed. The same pattern held for English language arts. For eighth-grade science, no students were tested, and no results were reported at all. This means a parent cannot draw conclusions about academic performance from state test scores at this school. The average scale score that was reported for math and ELA sits in the range typical of near-proficient performance, but with participation that low — only small handfuls of students took the tests — those averages cannot be generalized to the school as a whole.
No data was available for chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, or staffing. These are important indicators for any school, but for an online school they are especially relevant: families considering this option would likely want to understand how the school tracks engagement, provides access to elective and advanced coursework from home, and supports students who fall behind. The absence of this information limits what can be said about the day-to-day experience of attending Astravo Online Academy Middle School.
The parent district, Byers 32J, has taken on a distinctive role as an authorizer and host for multiple full-time virtual schools, including this one. That structural fact is the most defining feature of this school: it is not a traditional brick-and-mortar middle school but an online program that serves students across Colorado. A family considering this school would be choosing a home-based, publicly funded virtual education model rather than a local school with a physical building, extracurriculars, and in-person instruction. The school's performance data does not provide a clear picture of academic outcomes, so parents should look to the school directly for information on curriculum, teacher interaction, pacing, support for students with different learning needs, and how the program compares to other online options in the state.
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