What Connecting Waters Charter School does

Connecting Waters Charter Schools (CWCS) is a WASC-accredited California public charter school network operating three schools — Waterford (est. 2002), East Bay (est. 2017), and Central Valley (est. 2018) — that collectively serve Transitional Kindergarten through 12th-grade students across 11 California counties. The network delivers tuition-free, personalized education through independent study, hybrid, and fully online modalities, with each student assigned to an Education Specialist who maintains a customized learning plan. Operating as a non-classroom-based charter, CWCS relies on a distributed set of resource centers for in-person support, orientation events, and community engagement, while instruction is delivered primarily through the Canvas LMS (Instructure) integrated with third-party digital curricula including APEX Learning, i-Ready, IXL, Generation Genius, MY Access!, Think Central, MyHRW, and Atriuum. Communication and vendor instruction run on Zoom and Google Meet, and internal collaboration sits on Google Workspace; the Parent/Student Portal handles attendance, learning logs, and family-facing records. Governance uses BoardOnTrack for board operations and is overseen by a parent-majority Board of Directors.

Revenue is generated entirely through California per-pupil Average Daily Attendance (ADA) apportionment under the state's public charter school funding framework — the network is tuition-free to families and does not charge fees for core educational services. Each school's charter was independently authorized by a separate public authorizer (Waterford Unified School District, Alameda County Office of Education, and Modesto City Schools), and each school enrolls students directly through its own school-branded website rather than a centralized enrollment funnel. The go-to-market motion is therefore a decentralized, direct-to-family model supported by website-driven discovery (three school sites plus a district resource hub), a Facebook page, and word-of-mouth within homeschooling and alternative-education communities. An approved enrichment vendor network — covering tutoring, music, art, martial arts, coding, foreign language, and driving instruction — is procured via purchase orders managed by Education Specialists and vetted through a Business Services Vendor Relations function. With 51-100 staff and no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or external ownership, CWCS operates as a standalone public charter entity with multi-decade operating history since 2002.

Name

Connecting Waters Charter School

Legal name

Connecting Waters Charter Schools

Website

https://connectingwaters.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Connecting Waters Charter Schools is a WASC-accredited California public charter network of three schools (Waterford, East Bay, Central Valley) delivering tuition-free, personalized TK-12 education through independent study, hybrid, and online programs to families across 11 California counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Public Charter School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)

Keywords

• Charter school education
• TK-12 personalized learning
• Independent study programs
• Online homeschool programs
• Hybrid public schooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Causeway Bay

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Charter School Funding: As a California public charter school, Connecting Waters receives per-pupil funding from the state based on average daily attendance (ADA). This is government-funded educational services provided at no cost to families. The school is tuition-free, meaning revenue comes entirely from public education funding rather than tuition payments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Connecting Waters Charter Schools is a network of three WASC-accredited California public charter schools serving TK-12 students through independent study, hybrid programs, and online classes. The schools partner with families to build personalized learning plans, deliver digitally-enabled curricula via Canvas LMS and third-party platforms, and provide in-person support through resource centers across multiple California counties — all tuition-free and funded by public education apportionment.

Product overview

Connecting Waters Charter Schools operates as a network of three WASC-accredited California public charter schools offering TK-12 education through independent study, hybrid programs, and online classes. The core platform is Canvas LMS, which serves as the primary Learning Management System for online class delivery. This is supplemented by the CWCS Parent/Student Portal for family access to attendance and school information. The curriculum is delivered through multiple third-party digital platforms including APEX Learning for comprehensive courses, i-Ready for adaptive reading/math instruction, IXL for skills practice across all subjects, Generation Genius for science/math videos, MY Access! for writing instruction, Think Central and MyHRW for textbook content. Additionally, an approved vendor network provides enrichment services (music, art, PE, foreign languages, technology/coding instruction) through various providers using Zoom, Google Meet, and other video platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Connecting Waters Charter Schools Network Network of three WASC-accredited California public charter schools (Waterford, Central Valley, East Bay) serving TK-12 students through independent study, hybrid programs, and online classes using personalized learning plans.
• Approved Vendor Enrichment Services Network of vetted external vendors providing enrichment activities and specialized instruction including music lessons, art classes, physical education, foreign language tutoring, martial arts, technology/coding instruction, and driving education, funded through purchase orders managed by Education Specialists.
• Connecting Waters Waterford School First school in the network, serving students in Alameda, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne counties through independent study and hybrid programs.
• Connecting Waters East Bay School Second school in the network, serving students in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties.
• Connecting Waters Central Valley School Third school in the network, serving TK-12 students in the Central Valley area through independent study, hybrid, and online modalities.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Curriculum and Enrichment VendorscoreOthersNetwork of approved vendors providing educational services including tutoring, music lessons, physical education, art instruction, martial arts, dance, technology education, driving instruction, and academic support. Vendors are vetted through Business Services Vendor Relations Department with compliance verification, background checks, and community partnership assessment. Services are funded through purchase orders managed by Education Specialists.
• Waterford Unified School DistrictcoreOthersAuthorizing charter school district for CWCS Waterford school. The charter was granted by Waterford Unified School District, establishing the governance relationship for one of the three schools in the network.
• Modesto City SchoolscoreOthersAuthorizing charter school district for CWCS Central Valley. The charter was granted by Modesto City Schools.
• Alameda County Office of EducationcoreOthersAuthorizing charter school district for CWCS East Bay. The charter was granted by Alameda County Office of Education.
• APEX LearningcoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital curriculum provider for K-12 courses and tutorials used by students across all three CWCS schools.
• Instructure (Canvas)coreTechnology or IntegrationCanvas LMS provider powering the school's learning management system for online classes, assignments, and student progress tracking.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Insight Schools of California: California public online charter school offering free tuition-based K-12 instruction, operating a closely analogous model to CWCS's online and independent study programs.
• California Connections Academy: California-licensed tuition-free online public charter school serving TK-12 students statewide. Operates as a multi-county online charter network with personalized learning plans, closely mirroring CWCS's non-classroom-based model.
• iQ Academy California: California public online charter school offering personalized K-12 instruction funded by state ADA dollars, providing the same tuition-free, independent-study alternative as Connecting Waters.
• Blue Ridge Academy: California non-classroom-based charter serving TK-12 students through personalized learning plans, vendor partnerships, and resource centers across multiple counties, operating a highly comparable model.
• Yosemite Valley Charter School: California non-classroom-based charter network offering personalized learning plans and enrichment vendor programs to TK-12 families, sharing the same funding model and educational modality as CWCS.
• Pacific Charter Schools: Independent-study public charter school in California serving home-school and hybrid learners, with comparable personalized-learning and vendor-funded enrichment structure.
• Monarch River Academy: California non-classroom-based TK-12 charter network combining home study, vendor-supported enrichment, and online instruction funded by ADA dollars, materially overlapping with Connecting Waters' service model.

Broad incumbents

• Stride (formerly K12 Inc.): Large nationwide operator of online and blended learning programs including California-affiliated online schools; a broader incumbent providing similar K-12 online instructional services at scale.

Regional players

• Aspire Public Schools: California-based charter school network focused on college preparation; while it operates traditional classroom schools rather than non-classroom-based programs, it is comparable as a multi-site California charter network serving similar communities.
• Rocketship Public Schools: California-based charter school network serving elementary students through blended classroom and online learning, comparable as another large California charter operator but distinct in its classroom-based model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CWCSfbpage

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Connecting Waters Charter School