Charter Schools USA

What Charter Schools USA does

Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) is a private, Fort Lauderdale-headquartered education management organization founded by Jonathan Hage in 1997. CSUSA operates one of the largest EMO footprints in the United States, managing 154 grade-level schools across more than 100 campuses in four states (Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina), serving 85,000+ K-12 students through a workforce of approximately 8,500, of which roughly 7,700 are educators. Each school is governed by a non-profit governing board that contracts with CSUSA for end-to-end services, and the parent entity itself holds corporation system-wide Cognia accreditation — a first in the U.S. education management sector.

CSUSA's service stack is a comprehensive turn-key model: the Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC) anchored in Robert J. Marzano's research, the CSUSA Education Model for Continuous Improvement, the AVID college-readiness framework, the Attitude is Altitude social-emotional curriculum, Professional Learning Communities for teachers, and the Pathway to Professional Certification (CPPC) for non-education-degree candidates. Technology infrastructure includes PowerSchool as the student information system, SchoolMint for enrollment, interactive whiteboards and student-response systems in classrooms, and ADP for HR/payroll (recognized with the 2026 ADP HCM Distinction Award). In November 2025 CSUSA launched EduChat, a custom-built AI-powered educational assistant for educators and instructional leaders, with student rollout slated for 2026.

Revenue mechanics are tied directly to charter-school per-pupil state allocations: charter schools are tuition-free public schools of choice, and CSUSA retains a management fee on the per-pupil funding in exchange for delivering curriculum, technology, HR, finance, facility maintenance, marketing, enrollment, compliance, and strategic-improvement services. The go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer family enrollment through the SchoolMint online application system (csusa.schoolmint.net for FL/LA and csusacarolinas.schoolmint.net for NC/SC), complemented by community-led grassroots engagement, information sessions, school tours, and word-of-mouth driven by a 95% parent satisfaction rate. Customer segments are K-12 students and families (primary) and charter school governing boards (B2B counterparties).

Name

Charter Schools USA

Legal name

Charter Schools USA

Website

https://charterschoolsusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) is a private education management organization that operates 154 charter schools across Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, serving 85,000+ K-12 students through full-service turn-key management under per-pupil public funding arrangements with non-profit governing boards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charter School Management Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Independent Charter Schools (Single-Site) (EDAJACAB), Charter School Authorizers & Oversight Boards (EDADABAB)

Keywords

• Charter school management
• Education management services
• K-12 public education
• Charter school operations
• Educational curriculum design

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Lauderdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charter School Funding: As a public charter school management organization, CSUSA operates tuition-free public schools. Revenue comes from per-pupil funding allocated by state governments based on enrollment. Charter schools receive public funding based on student enrollment, typically from state and local tax revenues.
2. Charter School Management Services: CSUSA provides comprehensive management services to charter schools including technology, marketing, enrollment, communications, facility maintenance, HR management, financial management, and strategic improvement. These are provided under management agreements with charter school governing boards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Charter Schools USA provides comprehensive charter school management services to non-profit charter school governing boards across Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Services include curriculum and instructional delivery (Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum, Continuous Improvement Model), technology infrastructure, marketing and enrollment, financial management, HR and payroll, facility maintenance, compliance, and strategic improvement under formal management agreements. The organization directly operates 154 tuition-free public charter schools serving more than 85,000 K-12 students.

Product overview

Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) is a comprehensive charter school management organization operating as a single unified platform of educational services. The core offering includes end-to-end charter school management covering curriculum delivery through the Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC) and Continuous Improvement Model, supplemented by specialized programs including AVID for college readiness, the Attitude is Altitude curriculum for social-emotional learning, and Professional Learning Communities for teacher development. CSUSA's proprietary EduChat AI-powered assistant, launched in November 2025, represents its latest innovation in educational technology, providing AI-powered support to educators and, starting in 2026, students. The organization also supports teacher development through its Pathway to Professional Certification (CPPC) program and equips classrooms with 21st century technology infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EduChat: A custom-built AI-powered educational assistant designed specifically for educators, school leaders, and instructional teams to help teachers unlock student potential and streamline essential tasks.

Products and services

• CSUSA Charter School Management Services Comprehensive turn-key charter school management services contracted by non-profit charter school governing boards across Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, covering curriculum delivery (GVC and Continuous Improvement Model), technology, marketing and enrollment, financial management, HR and payroll, facility maintenance, compliance, and strategic improvement for 154 tuition-free public charter schools serving more than 85,000 K-12 students.
• EduChat Custom-built, generative AI-powered educational assistant that processes natural language queries and produces text responses to help educators with lesson planning, instructional support, student engagement, and streamlining essential classroom tasks; designed for educators and school leaders, with student deployment at select CSUSA schools beginning in 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% graduation rate (CSUSA Florida Class of 2025, highest ever)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ADPcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 April 2026ADP provides HCM (Human Capital Management) solutions used by CSUSA. CSUSA was recognized with 2026 HCM Distinction Award for leveraging ADP's HCM technology to improve workforce management and business performance.
• Red Apple Development, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated organization working with CSUSA on educational reform initiatives and charter school development.
• The Center for Education ReformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization supporting educational reform that CSUSA is associated with to advance charter school movement goals.
• National Alliance for Public Charter SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading national organization advocating for charter schools that CSUSA partners with for education reform initiatives.
• National Association of Charter School AuthorizerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization providing guidance and oversight for charter school authorizers that aligns with CSUSA's quality standards.
• Florida Charter School AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level organization supporting charter schools in Florida where CSUSA has significant presence.
• CogniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSUSA achieved corporation system-wide accreditation through Cognia (formerly AdvancED), the first education management company to do so.
• Ryan CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReal estate development company that partners with CSUSA to build charter school facilities. Completed four charter school projects in FL, LA, and SC for 2024-2025 school year totaling approximately 333,170 square feet.
• College BoardcoreTechnology or IntegrationOrganization providing AP (Advanced Placement) program and College Board Access Awards that CSUSA schools participate in and receive recognition from.
• Tallahassee State CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Innovation Academy of Excellence - Florida's first AI-integrated middle school opening on the Tallahassee State College campus.
• Nobel Education InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted the Forge the Future Conference where CSUSA launched EduChat, their AI-powered educational assistant.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• National Heritage Academies: National Heritage Academies is one of the largest charter school management organizations in the U.S., operating ~100 schools across multiple states with a similar tuition-free, per-pupil-funded model. It is the closest direct peer to CSUSA in scale, business model, and K-12 management-services positioning.
• Stride (formerly K12 Inc): Stride is a publicly traded online and blended learning provider managing K-12 schools and selling curriculum, including to charter and district partners. It overlaps directly with CSUSA in K-12 education management and increasingly in AI-enabled learning tools.
• Academica: Academica is a Florida-based charter school management organization that competes head-to-head with CSUSA in Florida's charter market, offering similar management services to non-profit governing boards across multiple campuses.
• Imagine Schools: Imagine Schools operates a national network of charter and private schools, providing tuition-free public charter education under a management-services model that mirrors CSUSA's structure. It is a direct competitor in the multi-state charter EMO category.
• IDEA Public Schools: IDEA Public Schools is one of the largest charter networks in the country, operating more than 140 schools across multiple states with a strong college-prep focus. Comparable to CSUSA in scale, mission (K-12 public charter), and college-readiness outcomes positioning.
• BASIS Charter Schools: BASIS operates a high-performing charter school network known for rigorous academics and strong college-prep outcomes. Comparable to CSUSA as a multi-state charter operator competing on academic excellence and outcomes.
• Leona Group: Leona Group is a charter school management company operating public charter schools across multiple states under the same per-pupil-funded management-services model as CSUSA. It is a direct peer in the EMO competitive set.
• Green Dot Public Schools: Green Dot Public Schools is a charter management organization operating turnaround and public charter schools across several states with a similar management-services structure and equity-focused mission. Comparable as a multi-state charter operator focused on college readiness.

Emerging players

• Mosaica Education: Mosaica Education has operated charter and tuition-free public schools across multiple states, providing similar education management services. Comparable in EMO model but smaller in scale than CSUSA's 154-school network.

Others

• Cognia (Accreditor): Cognia is the accreditation body under which CSUSA achieved the first system-wide EMO accreditation. It is an ecosystem enabler/regulator rather than a direct competitor, but materially shapes CSUSA's competitive positioning and compliance posture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/csusahq
• Facebookfacebook.com/csusahq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charter-schools-usa
• Instagraminstagram.com/csusahq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Charter Schools USA