Horizon Charter School

What Horizon Charter School does

Horizon Charter Schools is a tuition-free public charter school founded in 1993 and headquartered in Lincoln, California, serving Transitional Kindergarten through Grade 12 (TK-12) students across six Northern California counties—El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, and Yuba. It is authorized by Western Placer School District, holds full accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) through June 30, 2030, and is recognized as a University of California A-G pathway school with an NCAA-approved course list. The organization operates four grade-level academies—TK-2 (Eaglet) Academy, 3-5 Academy, Middle School Academy, and High School Academy—with 138 employees and a Class of 2026 cohort of 130 graduates whose destinations include Cornell University, Oregon State, University of Tennessee Knoxville, and William Jessup University.

The school delivers instruction through four learning pathways—On-Demand Learning (digital/online), Blended Learning (live virtual instruction), Supported Home Study (print-based with teacher supervision), and Alternative Home Study (customized family-led)—built on a commodity technology stack of Google Classroom for assignment management, Zoom for live virtual classes, and a Parent Portal for online enrollment and student management. Credentialed Supervising Teachers, Home Educator Mentors assigned per academy, and a Family Support Team provide the human layer over this technology. The organization partners with 200+ approved community enrichment providers and with community colleges in each served county to support dual enrollment and CTE pathways.

Horizon operates under a per-pupil state funding model, receiving apportionment through California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) based on average daily attendance. Families pay $0 tuition and receive $3,000 per student per year in instructional funds, allocated across approved curriculum, materials, services, enrichment classes, and community partner activities and transferable across siblings. Customer acquisition runs through the website, social media (Facebook, Instagram), Zoom-based info sessions, phone and email admissions support, and regional events across the six-county service area, with enrollment completed via the Parent Portal registration wizard.

Name

Horizon Charter School

Legal name

Horizon Charter Schools

Website

https://horizoncharterschools.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Horizon Charter Schools is a tuition-free public charter school founded in 1993, serving TK-12 students across six Northern California counties through four grade-level academies, four flexible learning modalities, and $3,000 per student in instructional funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Charter School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual/Online Charter Schools (EDAJACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Charter College-Prep & Advanced Academics Schools (EDAJACAJ), Charter Special Education & Inclusive Programs (EDAJACAF), Charter Career & Technical Education (CTE) Schools (EDAJACAK)

Keywords

• Public charter education
• Personalized learning programs
• Homeschool charter school
• TK-12 distance learning
• Blended learning instruction

Headquarters

HQ city

Lincoln

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Per-Pupil State Funding (LCFF): As a California public charter school, Horizon receives per-pupil apportionment funding through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) from the state of California based on average daily attendance. This funds school operations, teacher salaries, and instructional programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Horizon Charter Schools delivers tuition-free TK-12 personalized education to Northern California families through four grade-level academies and four flexible learning modalities (On-Demand digital, Blended live virtual, Supported Home Study print-based, and Alternative Home Study customized). Each enrolled family receives $3,000 per student per year in instructional funds and access to credentialed supervising teachers, 200+ approved community enrichment partners, and WASC-accredited UC A-G and NCAA-approved coursework.

Product overview

Horizon Charter Schools operates as a unified platform of educational academies serving TK-12 students across six Northern California counties. The portfolio consists of four grade-level academies (TK-2 Eaglet Academy, 3-5 Academy, Middle School Academy, and High School Academy) that share a common foundation of personalized learning, credentialed teacher support, and flexible delivery options. Four distinct learning pathways—On-Demand Learning (digital/online), Blended Learning (live virtual instruction), Supported Home Study (print-based with teacher guidance), and Alternative Home Study (customized family-led instruction)—provide families with delivery model choices while all academies access shared resources including instructional funds ($3,000/student), 200+ approved community enrichment partners, and family support services. The academies function as integrated modules within a single charter school organization, unified by WASC accreditation, California state standards alignment, and a common infrastructure including Parent Portal, Google Classroom integration, and Supervising Teacher partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TK-2 (Eaglet) Academy: Early learning academy for Transitional Kindergarten through Grade 2, providing nurturing, personalized start with flexible home-based learning and credentialed teacher support.
• 3-5 Academy
• Middle School Academy
• High School Academy

Products and services

• TK-2 (Eaglet) Academy

Quantifiable outcome

• 70.8% of graduates continue to community college, with additional students attending CSU (10.8%), private programs (7.5%), out-of-state public universities (4.2%), UC (3.3%), and military (2.9%)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Community Colleges (County Partnerships)coreOthersHorizon has partnerships with community colleges in every county they serve, enabling students to participate in dual enrollment programs and take college courses online during the school day.
• Jessup UniversityminorOthersHorizon holds graduation ceremonies at Jessup University theater. Graduate destinations include William Jessup University and Simpson University.
• Western Placer School DistrictcoreOthersHorizon's charter is authorized by the Western Placer School District. The district reviews and approves the LCAP and budget to ensure alignment of projected spending toward goals and services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Summit Public Schools: Larger California charter network with personalized learning and college-prep focus. Overlaps in mission and target (college-ready high schoolers) but operates across broader geographies and a different instructional model.
• K12 Inc. (Stride): National online learning operator powering many state-sponsored virtual charter schools including California programs. Comparable at the curriculum and platform level, though Stride operates as a large incumbent rather than a single school.

Direct peers

• Compass Charter Schools: California public charter school offering personalized learning pathways, homeschool enrichment, and online options for TK-12 students. Comparable in personalization, family empowerment, and WASC-accredited delivery.
• Connections Academy (California): One of the largest online charter school networks in the U.S., operating multiple California-sponsored virtual academies serving TK-12 students in similar non-traditional, home-based learning models. Direct competitor for the same flexible-learning family segment Horizon serves.
• Sky Mountain Charter School: California independent study charter school offering personalized, home-based learning with teacher support. Highly comparable product offering (flexible, family-led, charter-funded) for similar non-traditional-learning families.
• River Springs Charter School: California personalized-learning charter serving Riverside and surrounding counties with a multi-modality home study model. Direct competitor offering similar homeschool-style charter education with credentialed teacher support.
• California Virtual Academies (CAVA): Online charter school network sponsored through a partnership with the Kern County Office of Education, offering tuition-free online learning to California students. Closely comparable in delivery model (online, home-based, blended) and target family.
• iQ Academy California: Tuition-free online public charter school serving TK-12 students across California. Comparable as a fully online charter with credentialed teacher support and homeschool family orientation.

Others

• Western Placer Unified School District: Authorizing district for Horizon's charter and a key stakeholder reviewing the LCAP and budget. Not a competitive peer but a structural counterpart that controls Horizon's charter renewal and oversight.
• WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges): Accrediting body whose approval (through June 30, 2030) underpins Horizon's UC A-G and NCAA credibility. Not a peer in the commercial sense but a critical regulatory counterpart enabling Horizon's college-prep positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/horizoncharter
• Instagraminstagram.com/horizoncharterschools
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/horizon-charter-school

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Horizon Charter School