The Lawrence school district is right to re-examine and revamp the Lawrence Virtual High School program.

As it undertakes that process, district officials should pay special attention to a group that School Superintendent Rick Doll acknowledges often is drawn to virtual schools: students who aren’t succeeding in traditional brick-and-mortar schools.

Many such student once were served by the Lawrence Alternative High School, and when that school closed in 2005, the virtual school was touted as a possible option for those students. If Lawrence Virtual High School isn’t meeting that need, the district can’t simply give up on those students.

It’s apparent that LVHS, which enrolls students from across the state, isn’t meeting its goals. Last year, for example, nearly 45 percent of its students failed to meet state standards on the math assessment tests, compared with only 15 percent in the Lawrence district and 19 percent statewide. The graduation rate at LVHS was just 26.3 percent, compared with 88 percent for Lawrence High School and 94 percent for Free State.

To address such problems, the Lawrence district has taken back management of the school from its private contractor, K12 Inc. Next fall, all the teachers at LVHS will be Lawrence district employees. The school’s principal said he hopes that having teachers who know Lawrence and Kansas and understand Midwest values and state expectations will boost the school’s performance and make it more competitive with other virtual schools.

Demand apparently remains strong for virtual school programs, but as Doll noted, “we’ve got to do it well.”

Even if it’s done well, a virtual school probably isn’t the answer for every high school student who needs an alternative to a traditional school. That’s why the Lawrence district needs to work not only with academic programs but with various mental health programs, including those connected with Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center to help those students get on track to graduating or receiving their GEDs.

Giving up on the virtual high school may be an option for the Lawrence district, but giving up on those local students is not.