Ascension Classical School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 471420633
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Shreveport, LA, USA
- Phone
- 3189468089
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,203,832
- Expenses
- $1,540,276
- Assets
- $6,522,049
- Liabilities
- $1,939,664
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TONY WELTY (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KATY HATHORN (FORMER INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL): $75,849 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to glorify god through christ-centered education. We strive to serve children and parents by providing a biblical, classical, and comprehensive curriculum. By instilling a lifelong passion for learning, we aim to cultivate servant leaders who love god with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
What it reported doing in 2024
Ascension classical school served 140 students from kindergarten through 10th grade, providing a classical christian education that integrates rigorous academics with biblical principles. Key accomplishments included: (a) academic excellence: provided a comprehensive curriculum based on the classical model, emphasizing the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) to develop critical thinking and articulate communication skills; (b) character formation: fostered godly character in students through daily bible study, prayer, and a focus on virtues such as honesty, respect, and perseverance; (c) community engagement: encouraged students to serve their community through various outreach programs and service projects, instilling a sense of responsibility and compassion; and (d) extracurricular activities: offered a range of extracurricular activities, including music, art, and athletics, to promote well-rounded development and teamwork.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 55
- Sustainability: 74
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 61.6%; rating input score 62
- Program expense ratio: 86.9%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $16.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 30.1%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.23; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 61.6% of revenue deployed · 86.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $76K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.