# National Heritage Academies

> National Heritage Academies is a privately held, for-profit education management company that partners with independent charter-school boards to operate 103 tuition-free public schools across nine U.S. states. Its centralized model handles curriculum, staffing support, technology, enrollment, facilities and back-office work while schools pair data-informed academics with a proprietary Moral Focus character program. The network serves more than 65,000 K-12 students, placing NHA among the largest charter-school operators in the country and squarely inside the debate over privately managed public education.

- **Founded:** 1995
- **Headquarters:** Grand Rapids, United States
- **Founders:** J.C. Huizenga (Founder and Chairman)
- **Team size:** Approximately 6,500 employees; LinkedIn lists 5,001-10,000
- **Products:** Full-service charter school management, K-12 academic program, Moral Focus, Online public schools, NHA family app and Parent Portal
- **Notable:** Expanded from Excel Charter Academy in 1995 to 103 tuition-free public charter schools across nine states., Serves more than 65,000 K-12 students, with 2026 company releases citing more than 67,000., Eighteen partner-schools placed in Top 10 positions on U.S. News & World Report's 2025 state charter elementary or middle-school lists.

## Products & services

- **Full-service charter school management** — Operating support for partner school boards, including academics, staffing support, finance, compliance, technology, enrollment, marketing and facilities.
- **K-12 academic program** — Research-based, standards-aligned curriculum and data-informed instruction spanning elementary, middle and high school.
- **Moral Focus** — A network-wide character curriculum organized around nine monthly virtues including wisdom, respect, perseverance, compassion and integrity.
- **Online public schools** — Live-online and self-paced K-12 options through PrepNet Virtual Academy in Michigan and National Heritage Online Academy in North Carolina.
- **NHA family app and Parent Portal** — Digital tools for school announcements, teacher messaging, events, forms and family engagement.
- **Educator development** — New-teacher preparation, coaching, leadership development and reduced-cost certification pathways through partner programs.

## Achievements

- Expanded from Excel Charter Academy in 1995 to 103 tuition-free public charter schools across nine states.
- Serves more than 65,000 K-12 students, with 2026 company releases citing more than 67,000.
- Eighteen partner-schools placed in Top 10 positions on U.S. News & World Report's 2025 state charter elementary or middle-school lists.
- Two partner-schools were named 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools.
- A Stanford CREDO analysis cited by NHA found students gained the equivalent of 3.5 additional months of learning per year compared with matched public-school peers.
- Founder J.C. Huizenga was inducted into the Charter Schools Hall of Fame in 2025.
- Won national and regional Best and Brightest Companies to Work For recognition in 2019 and 2020.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — NHA broke ground on Summerfield Preparatory Academy in North Carolina, planned to open for grades 7-9 in fall 2027 and add one grade each year.
- **2026-05** — The company reported that Sky Ranch Academy in Colorado was expanding toward a high-school building for the 2026-27 academic year.
- **2026-04** — Four Michigan partner-schools received Grand Valley State University's Impact 30 grants for podcasting, career exploration, AI-focused staff development and outdoor STEM projects.
- **2026-01** — NHA's public materials listed a 103-school network and more than 65,000 students across nine states.
- **2025-09** — NHA highlighted its continuing Student United Way partnership, which gives students community-service and leadership roles.

## Links

- Website: https://www.nhaschools.com/en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-heritage-academies
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/nhaschools
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23uMOWHqtgA
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NHOANC

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/national-heritage-academies
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-13