National Heritage Academies

National Heritage Academies, Inc. (NHA) is a for-profit charter school management organization headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.^[1] It was formed in 1995 by entrepreneur J. C. Huizenga. NHA schools use the NWEA test as a measure of student performance.

As of the 2015-16 school year, NHA operates 81 charter schools in nine states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, and Wisconsin. As charter schools, NHA schools are publicly funded schools and charge no tuition. They are authorized by state-approved institutions such as universities and school boards, and therefore have no geographic boundaries. The schools focus on college preparedness and serve students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, (depending on the school).

It is the largest charter school operator in Michigan and one of the largest charter school operators in the United States.^[2]

Operations

National Heritage Academies' stated objectives are: NHA partners with local boards to build and operate charter public schools that serve students in grades K-8.^[3]

The company takes ownership of most of the school buildings and the equipment inside them, even if they had been procured with funds from taxpayers. NHA makes funds by charging rent to the schools after NHA paid for renovations and/or constructions of schools, and public money is used to pay the rent. The NHA usually does not lower the rents even after the debts acquired by NHA for that particular property had been paid. Jennifer Dixon of Detroit Free Press stated that the fact that NHA owns the school buildings and could take them away gives it a lot of leverage when dealing with school districts.^[2]

All Schools

Colorado

• Foundations Academy
• Landmark Academy at Reunion

Georgia

• Atlanta Heights Charter School

Indiana

• Andrew J. Brown Academy
• Aspire Charter Academy

Louisiana

• Advantage Charter Academy
• Inspire Charter Academy
• Willow Charter Academy

Michigan

• Achieve Charter Academy
• Burton Glen Charter Academy
• Canton Charter Academy
• Chandler Woods Charter Academy
• Cross Creek Charter Academy
• Detroit Enterprise Academy
• Detroit Merit Charter Academy
• Detroit Premier Academy
• Eagle Crest Charter Academy
• East Arbor Charter Academy
• Endeavor Charter Academy
• Excel Charter Academy
• Flagship Academy
• Fortis Academy
• Grand River Charter Academy
• Great Oaks Academy
• Hamtramck Academy
• Keystone Academy
• Knapp Charter Academy
• Lansing Charter Academy
• Laurus Academy
• Legacy Charter Academy
• Linden Charter Academy
• Metro Charter Academy
• North Saginaw Charter Academy
• Oakside Scholars Charter Academy
• Paragon Charter Academy
• Paramount Charter Academy
• Plymouth Scholars
• Prevail Academy
• Quest Charter Academy
• Reach Academy
• Regent Park Scholars
• Ridge Park Charter Academy
• River City Scholars
• South Arbor Charter Academy
• South Canton Scholars
• South Pointe Scholars
• Taylor Exemplar Academy
• Timberland Charter Academy
• Triumph Academy
• Vanderbilt Charter Academy
• Vanguard Charter Academy
• Vista Charter Academy
• Walker Charter Academy
• Walton Charter Academy
• Warrendale Charter Academy
• Wellspring Preparatory Academy
• Windemere Park Charter Academy

New York

• Brooklyn Dreams Charter School
• Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School
• Brooklyn Scholars Charter School
• Buffalo United Charter School
• Riverton Street Charter School
• Southside Academy Charter School

North Carolina

• Forsyth Academy
• Gate City Charter Academy
• Greensboro Academy
• Matthews-Mint Hill Charter Academy
• Peak Charter Academy
• PreEminent Charter School
• Queens Grant Community School
• Research Triangle Charter Academy
• Summerfield Charter School
• Wake Forest Charter Academy
• Winterville Charter Academy

Ohio

• Alliance Academy of Cincinnati
• Apex Academy
• Bennett Venture Academy
• Emerson Academy
• North Dayton School of Discovery
• Orion Academy
• Pathway School of Discovery
• Pinnacle Academy
• Stambaugh Charter Academy
• Winterfield Venture Academy

Wisconsin

• Milwaukee Scholars

Resources

• "Excel Charter School Gets Approval For Building," Grand Rapids Press, August 11, 1995, p. A12.
• Franklin, Amy, "Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Charter School," Associated Press Newswires, September 27, 2000.
• Golden, Daniel, "Common Prayer: Old-Time Religion Gets a Boost at a Chain of Charter Schools," Wall Street Journal, September 15, 1999, p. A1.
• Kirkbride, Ron, "Banking Syndicate Raises $25 Million to Expand National Heritage Schools," Grand Rapids Press, July 12, 2002, p. A6.
• Knape, Chris, "National Heritage Remains in Class of Its Own," Grand Rapids Press, August 13, 2003, p. A10.
• Molinari, Deanne, "Peter Ruppert: Inside Track," Grand Rapids Business Journal, June 30, 1997, p. 5.
• "National Heritage Makes Money Running Charter Schools," Associated Press Newswires, December 2, 2001.
• Rent, Katy, "Going to the Head of the Class," Grand Rapids Business Journal, November 19, 2001, p. 3.
• Riede, Paul, "State Oks Southside Charter School," Post-Standard (Syracuse), December 21, 2001, p. A1.
• Schuetz, Kym, and Roland Wilkerson, "Charter School Sale Would Fund Expansion," Grand Rapids Press, October 9, 1998, p. A1.
• Singhania, Lisa, "Companies See Profit in Charter Schools," Associated Press Newswires, April 28, 2000.
• Weiker, Jim, "Charter Group Says It Has Funds To Grow," Grand Rapids Press, January 18, 2000, p. B1.
• Wyatt, Edward, "Charter School to Raise Topic of Creationism," New York Times, February 18, 2000, p. 1.

References