COLUMBUS COLLEGIATE ACADEMY

What COLUMBUS COLLEGIATE ACADEMY does

Columbus Collegiate Academy operates as United Schools, a private K-8 school network headquartered at 1469 East Main Street, Columbus, Ohio, running four campuses — United Elementary State St., United Elementary 17th St., United Middle Dana Ave., and United Middle Main St. The organization's primary operating activity is school operations, but the entity also markets a small portfolio of education-leadership content and services built around the Win-Win brand, which is anchored by John A. Dues.

The core commercial products are the "Win-Win" book (published through Myers Education Press and awarded the 2024 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award), the Win-Win Blog (monthly thought-leadership articles on improvement science), and Improvement Advising — quote-based consulting services for school systems seeking to apply W. Edwards Deming's System of Profound Knowledge and improvement science methods. There is no proprietary technology disclosed; the website is a Squarespace site and student records run on PowerSchool.

The business model is dual: school operations are funded through enrollment, donations, and likely public funding typical of a charter/nonprofit school network, while the Win-Win commercial stream is a one-time book sale through Myers Education Press plus bespoke professional-services consulting. Go-to-market is event-driven and content-led — monthly blog posts, direct email outreach via [email protected], and John A. Dues' LinkedIn presence — targeting education leaders (school board members, superintendents, administrators) as the primary persona, with teachers and College of Education students as secondary audiences. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding, no subsidiaries, no M&A activity, and only 10 employees listed.

Name

COLUMBUS COLLEGIATE ACADEMY

Legal name

United Schools

Website

https://schoolperformanceinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Columbus Collegiate Academy, operating as United Schools, runs four K-8 campuses in Columbus, Ohio and sells a book, blog, and improvement-science advising services to education leaders worldwide via John A. Dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-8 Charter School Education

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)

Keywords

• Charter school network
• K-8 education services
• Improvement science consulting
• Education leadership books
• School improvement advising

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sale of the Win-Win book published through Myers Education Press, targeted at education leaders, administrators, teachers, and college students in Education programs.
2. Improvement Advising Services: Consulting and advisory services provided to school systems seeking to improve performance using Deming's System of Profound Knowledge and improvement science methods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

United Schools (operated by Columbus Collegiate Academy) runs a network of K-8 charter school campuses in Columbus, Ohio, providing elementary and middle school education to families. The organization also publishes educational books (notably Win-Win: The Book) and offers Improvement Advising services to external school leaders applying improvement science methodology to their own schools.

Product overview

COLUMBUS COLLEGIATE ACADEMY operates under the United Schools network and offers educational materials and services focused on school improvement. The primary offerings include the 'Win-Win: The Book' publication (a guide for education leaders based on Deming's System of Profound Knowledge), the 'Win-Win Blog' providing monthly educational content, and 'Improvement Advising' consulting services. These offerings form a coherent portfolio centered on improvement science methodology for transforming school systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Win-Win: The Book A published book that presents a practical framework for school improvement based on improvement science and Deming's System of Profound Knowledge; intended for school leaders, educators, and College of Education students and faculty.
• Improvement Advising Advisory/consulting engagement in which the organization's leadership works with external school and district leaders to apply improvement-science methodology in their own schools; engaged via direct email contact.
• United Schools K-8 Campus Network (Enrollment) Tuition-free public charter school education spanning four campuses — United Elementary State St., United Middle Dana Ave., United Elementary 17th St., and United Middle Main St. — serving K-8 students and families in Columbus, Ohio.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Myers Education PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMyers Education Press publishes and distributes the Win-Win book. The book is available for order through their press warehouse platform at standard academic book pricing.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Uncommon Schools: Multi-state charter school network operating elementary and middle schools with a strong improvement-oriented culture. Highly comparable as a multi-site charter operator focused on college preparation and systems-level school improvement.
• National Heritage Academies: Operates a large network of charter schools across multiple U.S. states, including in the Midwest. Comparable in being a multi-site charter management organization with headquarters in the broader region, though much larger in scale.
• Imagine Schools: Multi-state charter school network operating elementary and middle campuses with a focus on character and academic outcomes. Comparable as a multi-site charter operator with similar grade-band focus.

Others

• Public Impact: Education consulting organization that partners with school systems on transformation initiatives. Comparable as an adjacent consulting peer serving similar education-leader clients with improvement-oriented engagements.
• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: Education-focused foundation that has been a leading proponent of improvement science in education. Comparable as an institutional reference point for the improvement-science methodology underpinning the Win-Win book and advising practice.

Broad incumbents

• IDEA Public Schools: Large national charter school network operating TK-12 campuses across several states. Comparable as a multi-site charter operator with a strong results-driven, improvement-focused mission similar to United Schools' ethos.
• KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program): One of the largest U.S. charter school networks, operating elementary, middle, and high schools across multiple states. Comparable as a multi-site charter network, though KIPP operates at far greater national scale than United Schools.

Emerging players

• Education Resource Strategies (ERS): Nonprofit that partners with school systems on strategy, resource allocation, and improvement. Comparable as a school-improvement consulting peer that targets the same education-leader buyer persona.
• TNTP (The New Teacher Project): Education consulting and teacher development organization that partners with school systems on improvement. Comparable to the Improvement Advising service line, which sells systems-level consulting to school leaders.

Regional players

• ACCEL Schools: Ohio-based charter school management organization operating multiple campuses, including in Columbus. A directly comparable regional charter network peer given shared geography and multi-site operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/columbus-collegiate-academy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 COLUMBUS COLLEGIATE ACADEMY