Fcps Virtual Academy, Lexington KY

Original Research by School Decision on Fcps Virtual Academy

FCPS Virtual Academy in Lexington, Kentucky, is listed as a closed school at the time of this profile. It was an alternative school serving a middle school grade band. Because it is no longer operating, the narrative here is necessarily brief and based on the limited data available from its final year.

The school was part of Fayette County Public Schools, the district serving the consolidated city-county of Lexington. Lexington is the state’s second-largest city, home to the University of Kentucky, a major thoroughbred horse industry, and a growing bourbon distillery presence. The district covers a wide area that blends a dense downtown core, suburban residential neighborhoods, and rural horse farm country, all governed under a merged urban-county government. The city’s growth is managed through one of the nation’s first urban growth boundaries, which restricts new development to an urban service area and preserves surrounding open space.

As an alternative school, FCPS Virtual Academy was designed for a specific purpose within the district, likely serving students who needed a learning environment different from a traditional brick-and-mortar middle school. The available state assessment data comes from the 2021-22 school year, which was also the school’s final year of operation. Participation rates on state tests fluctuated, with some grades showing participation around 70-90 percent, though a precise reason for this is not given in the data. Where proficiency results were reported, the numbers were low across subjects. In math, proficiency rates for the grades where data was not suppressed ranged from roughly 20 percent to 30 percent. In English language arts, those rates ranged from roughly 30 percent to above 50 percent for grade 8. Science results for grades 4 and 7 were suppressed, and social studies proficiency was below 30 percent for the two tested grades. This pattern is not unusual for an alternative school setting, where the student population may include those who have struggled in traditional classrooms or are behind grade level academically. A parent would want to understand the specific mission this school served, but the data to describe that mission is not available in the profile.

No enrollment, demographic, or free-and-reduced-price lunch data were reported. Information on the school’s staffing, discipline rates, and course access is also absent. Because the school did not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate. The absence of these standard data points is typical for many alternative programs, but it does mean there is very little to describe the student body or the school’s day-to-day operations.

For a family considering FCPS Virtual Academy, the critical fact is that the school has closed. The district, Fayette County, continues to operate a range of other schools. Anyone interested in the virtual or alternative education options that Fayette County offers now would need to contact the district directly. The housing market in Lexington shows home values and rents that are above national and state benchmarks, reflecting the city’s desirability as a mid-sized urban and university hub. The economic context includes a national median household income and a 30-year mortgage rate typical of the period. These conditions affect school choice generally, but they are not specific to a now-closed school. The profile of FCPS Virtual Academy is a short one, defined by its status as a closed alternative program with limited assessment data from its final year, and the main takeaway for a parent is that this particular option is no longer available.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

<50%Cohort of 8 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

314 schools plotted. 35 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 49% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 44% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 50% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 45% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 53% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 55% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 53% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 48% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 43% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 47% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

This schoolFayette County, 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.