Collegiate Academies
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 800601507
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New Orleans, LA, USA
- Phone
- 504-224-9615
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $64,522,864
- Expenses
- $65,343,292
- Assets
- $21,800,465
- Liabilities
- $3,283,597
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JEREL BRYANT (CEO)
- STACY MARTIN (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JEREL BRYANT (CEO): $314,757 total reported compensation
- STACY MARTIN (PRESIDENT): $205,353 total reported compensation
- RHONDA DALE (CHIEF OF STAFF): $178,808 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Collegiate Academies is a network of public charter schools serving students in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Founded in 2008, the network operates schools including Walter L. Cohen High School and Opportunities Academy, and runs programs such as Next Level NOLA. Collegiate Academies focuses on academic growth, with students regularly outperforming the Louisiana average on state tests, and has achieved 100% principal retention since its founding. The organization emphasizes leadership development for staff and has been ranked the #1 Best Place to Work in New Orleans by CityBusiness.
What it reported doing in 2024
Collegiate academies operated six schools this year, serving nearly 3,000 public school students in new orleans and baton rouge. Over 98% of graduating seniors were accepted into a 2 or 4 year college or university. All collegiate academy schools received a "b or better letter grade from the state of Louisiana for academic progress.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 97% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.2%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 66.2%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.3%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.4%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 67.2% of revenue deployed · 66.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $43.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $315K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $11M reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.