Fox Valley Virtual School, Menasha WI

Original Research by School Decision on Fox Valley Virtual School

Fox Valley Virtual School is a public charter school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, run by the Menasha Joint School District. As a virtual school, it provides a remote learning option for families in the area who do not want a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom setting. The school is based in Menasha, a city on the Fox River and Lake Winnebago with a strong industrial and papermaking heritage that is part of the larger Fox Cities region.

The student body is small, a feature that may appeal to families seeking a more contained educational environment. In terms of racial and ethnic composition, the largest group of students is white, followed by a smaller share of Hispanic students, and smaller shares of students who are Black, two or more races, and American Indian or Alaska Native. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

State testing data is available for grades three through eight, but it comes from very small numbers of students per grade level, which means individual results can swing a great deal from year to year and from one grade to the next. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above varied by grade, with a higher rate seen in grade three and lower rates in grades four through seven. Results for grade eight were suppressed, a common practice when the tested group is too small to report publicly without risking student privacy. In English language arts, proficiency rates varied considerably by grade. A higher rate was seen in grade three, a lower rate in grade four, a rate around the middle in grade five, and a lower rate in grade six. Grade seven saw a higher rate, while results for grade eight were suppressed for the same reason. In science and social studies, data was available for grade four, where proficiency was reported for a measurable share of students, and results for grade eight were suppressed. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint relative to districts in Winnebago County.

Because the school serves only up to eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The virtual format is itself the defining feature of the school, and the experience will differ significantly from an in-person setting. For a family considering this option, a direct conversation with the school about how the curriculum is delivered, how students interact with teachers and each other, and what kind of parent involvement is expected would be a natural next step. The technical and logistical setup for a child to learn remotely is something a parent will want to understand fully before enrolling.

The school is located in Menasha, which has a traditional downtown near the river and a mix of older residential neighborhoods and industrial corridors. Housing in the area, based on nearby zip-level data, has a typical value that is below the statewide benchmark but close to the national figure, and rents are moderate relative to incomes. The city has seen steady population growth over recent decades and has a moderate and growing level of diversity. The closure of a local UW-Oshkosh campus in 2025 was a notable institutional shift. No recent district-level changes like referendums or curriculum shifts were found in publicly available materials, so a family would need to check with the district office for the latest information.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 43% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 44% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 48% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 46% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 51%

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

English language arts

Grade 383%

School 83% · District 38% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 41% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 48% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 41% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 773%

School 73% · District 41% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 38% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 50% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

This schoolMenasha Joint School District, 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.