The Romine Group

What The Romine Group does

The Romine Group, Inc. is a privately held charter school management company headquartered in Utica, Michigan, founded in 1996 by John Romine and currently led by President & CEO Paul Romine. The company provides comprehensive operational, financial, and academic management services to public charter schools, including pre-operational support (charter application development, site selection, hiring, startup funding) and ongoing services (curriculum design, regulatory compliance, professional development, and operational oversight). Its core operational framework is the proprietary Select Standards system — a set of 12 shared standards governing mission, instruction, assessment, and professional development across managed schools. Revenue is generated through management service agreements with individual charter schools, which in turn receive public per-pupil funding from authorizers such as Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, and Port Huron Area School District.

The company currently operates a portfolio of 4 active charter schools across Michigan and North Carolina (including Capitol Encore Academy in Fayetteville, NC; Madison, Merritt, Hanley International, Michigan Collegiate, Momentum, New Standard, Tipton, Trillium, Voyageur Academy, and Voyageur College Prep High School in Michigan; plus the Intervention Academy in St. Clair County) and is developing roughly 6 additional schools nationwide. Since 1996, TRG has supported the launch and operation of more than two dozen schools. Each school is independently and locally operated under the Select Standards framework with its own educational focus (Montessori, performing arts, ELL, college prep, intervention), rather than a uniform chain model. TRG is accredited through AdvancED — the first charter school management company in Michigan to receive this distinction — and the organization operates without external venture capital or private equity ownership.

Name

The Romine Group

Legal name

The Romine Group, Inc.

Website

https://therominegroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Romine Group is a privately held charter school management company that operates and supports public charter schools in Michigan and North Carolina, providing pre-operational and ongoing operational, academic, and financial management services under its Select Standards framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charter School Management

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter School Management Organizations (CMOs/EMOs) (EDAJACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)

Keywords

• Charter school management
• Educational management services
• Charter school operations
• K-12 education services
• School startup support

Headquarters

HQ city

Utica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Educational Management Services: TRG provides educational management services to charter public schools. The schools themselves are tuition-free public charter schools, with funding coming from charter agreements with authorizers (such as Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, and Port Huron Area School District). TRG generates revenue through management service agreements with these schools.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Romine Group provides comprehensive educational management services to charter public schools under management service agreements with charter authorizers (universities and school districts). Services span pre-operational startup support—charter application development, site location, building acquisition/renovation, administrator and staff hiring, and startup grant applications—and ongoing operational management including curriculum development, regulatory compliance, professional development, and marketing/recruitment. The company currently manages 12 charter schools across Michigan and North Carolina, with each school locally tailored to its community's needs.

Product overview

The Romine Group is Michigan's first charter school management company, operating a portfolio of 12 individual charter public schools across Michigan and North Carolina. The company provides comprehensive charter school management services including pre-operational support (charter application development, site selection, staff hiring) and ongoing operational services (curriculum support, compliance, professional development). Each school is independently and locally operated with its own focus areas such as Montessori approach, performing arts, technology education, or international/ELL programs. The schools collectively serve grades PreK-12 and are supported by the company's Select Standards framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Capitol Encore Academy A charter public school in Fayetteville, NC focused on inquiry, creativity, and global competitiveness, emphasizing arts education and virtuous character development.
• Hanley International Academy A Pre-K-8 charter school in Hamtramck, MI with an individualized learning approach, located in the city's first newly constructed school building since 1935, featuring a diverse ELL program serving families speaking more than 20 languages.
• Intervention Academy A charter school chartered by Port Huron Area School District providing educational services to children and youth through age 19 residing in the county Intervention Center.
• Madison Academy A K-12 charter school in Flint, MI focusing on academic excellence, wellness, and character development, consistently outperforming local districts on state standardized tests.
• Merritt Academy A PreK-12 charter school in New Haven, MI focused on mastery of basics plus arts and technology, built on values of honesty, integrity, respect and good judgment.
• Michigan Collegiate A free public charter school serving grades K-12, chartered by Ferris State University, providing instruction and training for a strong educational environment.
• Momentum Academy A charter school founded in 2012 in Waterford, MI partnering with Lake Superior State University to provide academic excellence for college readiness.
• New Standard Academy A tuition-free charter public school in Flint, MI serving grades K-5, expanding grade levels annually, with plans to offer educational and wellness programs supporting entire families.
• Tipton Academy A charter school founded in 2012 in Garden City, MI, serving grades K-5 with research-based academic programs and concentrations in learning styles and performing arts.
• Trillium Academy A K-12 charter school in Taylor, MI with a Montessori approach to learning, offering expanded fine and performing arts programs and fostering independent thinking.
• Voyageur Academy A free public charter school in Detroit, MI serving grades K-8, focused on academic excellence through dedicated staff, strong curriculum, and parental involvement.
• Voyageur College Prep High School A public charter academy in Detroit, MI serving grades 9-12, preparing students to be College Ready and College Bound through pillars of Discipline, Focus, Hard-Work, Perseverance, and Character.
• Charter School Startup Services Pre-operational and operational services supporting charter school development including charter application development, building site selection and renovation, staff hiring and training, curriculum design, marketing and recruitment, and regulatory compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Madison Academy students exceed local district in 16 of 18 grades/subjects on state standardized tests - in some cases by 20 to 40 percentage points
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AdvancEDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTRG is accredited through AdvancED, the nation's educational accrediting body. This accreditation endorses each school and the group's systemwide operations, representing a significant quality achievement.
• Ferris State UniversitycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFerris State University serves as a charter authorizer for Michigan Collegiate, one of the TRG-managed schools.
• Lake Superior State UniversitycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLake Superior State University chartered Momentum Academy, which TRG manages.
• Port Huron Area School DistrictcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPort Huron Area School District chartered the St. Clair County Intervention Academy, for which TRG provides educational management services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Imagine Schools: National charter school management organization operating schools in multiple states. Comparable as a CMO offering full-service school management and operating a network of independently branded schools.
• Academica: Florida-based charter school management organization serving a large network of charter schools. Directly comparable as a for-profit CMO providing full management services to charter schools in multiple states.
• Charter Schools USA: One of the largest for-profit charter school management companies in the U.S., operating schools across multiple states. Directly comparable on managed-services model, multi-site scale, and education management services.
• LEARN Charter School Network: Chicago-area charter school management organization operating a network of charter schools. Comparable as a regional CMO with full-service management support and similar grade-level focus.
• National Heritage Academies: Grand Rapids, MI-based charter school management organization operating a multi-state network of charter schools. Directly comparable as a Michigan-rooted CMO serving similar grade levels with a similar managed-services model.
• GEO Academies: Charter school management organization operating schools across multiple states. Comparable as a CMO providing full educational and operational management services to charter schools.
• Mosaica Education: Charter school management organization that operates and manages public charter schools. Directly comparable as a CMO providing school management services including curriculum, operations, and compliance support.

Others

• National School Choice Awareness Project: Adjacent ecosystem organization promoting charter and other school choice options. Useful as a peer of the broader school-choice environment in which TRG competes for families and authorizer goodwill.
• National Charter Schools Institute: Charter school authorizer and support organization working with CMOs and individual schools. Comparable as an ecosystem participant — TRG's existing authorizer relationships (e.g., Ferris State, Lake Superior State) operate in this institutional space.

Broad incumbents

• KIPP Foundation: National network of public charter schools with a much larger footprint than TRG. Comparable as a major K-8 charter operator with proven outcomes and brand recognition, though non-profit and substantially larger in scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheRomineGroup

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries12 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 The Romine Group