Ascend Charter Schools
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 453957158
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Phone
- 3474647600
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $137,643,531
- Expenses
- $138,881,621
- Assets
- $542,629,377
- Liabilities
- $520,582,848
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARYANN LI (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- LEYDE ST LEGER (PRINCIPAL): $222,349 total reported compensation
- LATASHA WILLIAMS (PRINCIPAL): $206,225 total reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER ZILINSKI (PRINCIPAL): $202,151 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Ascend charter schools' (the "school") mission is to equip every student with the knowledge, confidence, and character to succeed in college and beyond. The school will span kindergarten through the 12th grade at maturity. From the earliest grades, students will steadily build a strong foundation of learning habits, critical thinking skills, and knowledge; excel academically in the middle and high school, mastering high-level math and science; and graduate as confident young adults, prepared to succeed as college students, as citizens, and as leaders in their chosen fields.
What it reported doing in 2024
Ascend charter schools is a network of k-12 public charter schools serving 5,208 students in 17 schools across brooklyn, New York's most populous borough. Our undertaking is to lead our students on a great intellectual adventure, provide them with an exceptional college preparatory education, and place them firmly on the path to success in college and beyond.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -0.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.91; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.96; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $115.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $222K · 17 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $21.2M reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.