Ad Astra Virtual Academy, Buhler KS

Original Research by School Decision on Ad Astra Virtual Academy

Ad Astra Virtual Academy is a full-time online school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade, operated by the Buhler school district in south-central Kansas. The academy is one of two schools physically located in Buhler, a small rural town with a Mennonite heritage and a population that has been essentially flat to slightly declining in recent years. The town itself is compact, with a downtown along Main Street that is described as neat and active, though the school’s virtual format means students access instruction from home rather than a central campus.

Enrollment across all grade levels is modest, with the largest numbers in the upper high school grades. The student body is predominantly White, with smaller shares of students who are Hispanic, Black, or identify as two or more races. Information on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals was not available, nor were data on special education or English learner populations, so the economic and support-needs profile of the student body is not fully clear from the records reviewed.

State assessment results from the 2024–25 school year are reported for grades three through eight in math, English language arts, and science. The Kansas assessment program changed its cut scores this year, which means these results cannot be directly compared to prior years. In math, proficiency rates across those grades are low: in most grade levels fewer than one in five students scored at the proficient level, and in one grade no student reached that threshold. English language arts results are somewhat higher but still modest, with the strongest performance in third and fifth grades, where roughly a third of students met the proficiency standard. Science results for fifth and eighth graders show that about three out of ten students scored proficient. No state testing data were available for high school grades, so the academic picture is incomplete for older students. The academy’s overall proficiency index, which averages all tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quarter of its comparison set, which includes other districts within Reno County.

A graduation rate was not reported in the data provided, so it is unclear how this virtual academy’s high school completion compares to its peers. Without program offerings such as Advanced Placement, dual credit, or career and technical pathways in the record, a parent considering high school here would want to ask what course options and postsecondary preparation are available.

The academy sits within the Buhler public school district, which operates six schools total. The town of Buhler has limited commercial and recreational infrastructure, with a few civic anchors such as Wheatland Park and an annual Frolic festival, but no public library branch or transit system was identified in the search results. Housing values in the area are below national medians, reflecting the rural market.

Ad Astra Virtual Academy may fit a family seeking a fully remote educational model, particularly one that is part of a stable rural district. The low assessment results and the absence of high school testing data and graduation figures are areas a parent would want to investigate directly with the school, as these gaps could reflect the nature of the virtual program or the specific students enrolled rather than a complete picture of academic outcomes.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 52% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 53% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 47% · ▼ 47 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Grade 66%

School 6% · District 32% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 30% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 47% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 54% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 47% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 56% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 40% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 37% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 47% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 54% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 37% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

This schoolBuhler, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.