Elevated Digital Learning Academy is a small, alternative public virtual school serving grades K-12 in South Lake Tahoe, California, which is part of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District. The school has seen concerning trends, including a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, which reached 34.6% in 2022-2023, far exceeding the district's 20-25% rate. Additionally, the school's academic performance, as measured by proficiency on state assessments, is significantly lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas.
For example, in 2023-2024, only 30.77% of 11th-graders at Elevated Digital Learning Academy scored proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 43.98% for the district and 55.73% for the state. The school's performance is particularly low in Science, with only 8.7% of 10th-graders and 8.57% of students overall scoring proficient or better on the CAST Science test, compared to 25.09% and 29.48% for the district. In contrast, the nearby Blue Ridge school had a 0% chronic absenteeism rate in 2022-2023, indicating a stark difference in student engagement and attendance.
The data also suggests that Elevated Digital Learning Academy serves a socioeconomically disadvantaged population, with 50% of its students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2022-2023, significantly higher than the overall Lake Tahoe Unified School District rate. While the school has seen an improvement in its student-teacher ratio, decreasing from 18:1 in 2020-2021 to 7.4:1 in 2022-2023, this alone does not appear to be sufficient to address the school's broader performance issues.
Students at Elevated Digital Learning Academy are 45% White, 32% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races, 5% American Indian, 4% African American, 2% Asian, 2% Not Specified.
Elevated Digital Learning Academy ranks 1636th of 2323 California alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.
In the 2022-23 school year, 56 students attended Elevated Digital Learning Academy.
Lake Tahoe Unified