City Learners Inc Dba My City School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 463339520
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Mill Valley, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4152602316
- Rating
- 69
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $443,598
- Expenses
- $478,811
- Assets
- $22,290
- Liabilities
- $1,661
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Jennifer Larson Simmons (Executive Dir.): $151,475 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
My City School is an experience-based learning environment for middle school children for mild to moderate LD students who thrive in an environment that serves their kinesthetic, multi- sensory learning styles con't on Sch O
What it reported doing in 2024
We reimagined education. We broke the mold of the conventional educational model, found a method to provide an individualized approach, and addressed foundational gaps while accessing grade-level content, all within a classroom setting. We redefined the whole child, created a safe space to learn differently, highlighted the significance of each student's natural approach to learning, identified and removed roadblocks, and created micro scaffolding needed to access grade-level content while offering stretch work for strength subjects. This, combined with our STEAM program that emphasizes eco-stewardship, has proved what we knew all along, that kids with learning differences can outperform expectations, and thrive in Gen Ed and accelerated programs. Primary accomplishments: We have watched our students transition successfully into public and private high schools such as Drew, Lowell, Riordan, SOTA, Mid Peninsula High School, Marin School of the Arts, The Dunn School, and more. We consistently hear from parents about how our students advocate for their college of choice and are making great career path decisions. Some specific accomplishments: a Served and graduated over 40 students directly in our program b Graduates move on to private and public high schools and remain in general education classes c Graduates are offered AP coursework for their strength subjects d Graduates graduate high school with diplomas and move on to higher education Alumni Accomplishments: a 3-year students are leaders in high school b Graduates are receiving awards such as National Scholastic Achievement Awards, Merit Scholarship awards, and more c Graduates are offered scholarships in college d 3-year students who enter with an IEP leave with a 504 * Non-Profit Accomplishments in changing education -Teaching and training others over the past 10 years a Summer Bridge program - train other teachers to do remediation for students during the summer b Summer Bridge program serves students with LD's and addresses missing foundational gaps in learning c Supported and provided free workshops to over 400 parents d Provided Teacher and learning specialist training to over 300 teachers Partnered with other schools and provided educational training workshops for staff and parent body. In total, our team provides over 300 hours of free, volunteer workshops and trainings per year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 100% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 56
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 96.9%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 89.8%; rating input score 90
- Fundraising efficiency: $0.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- 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: -7.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.05; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 31.6%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 96.9% of revenue deployed · 89.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $430K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
- Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.