Dc Preparatory Academy

What it reported doing in 2024

At dc prep, our vision is that every child will be prepared academically and socially for a successful future. We have big dreams for our students and make those dreams a reality through daily effort, focus, and support of one another and our students and families. Dc prep currently operates six tuition-free public charter schools that are open to any child in Washington, enrolling more than 2,100 students in grades preschool through 8th grade. Historically, 89% of dc prep students are african-american and 8% are hispanic; over 65% of students are considered "at risk" because they are homeless, in foster care, or their families qualify for government assistance.dc prep has a twin focus on high-quality, rigorous academics and holistic social-emotional growth. During our 22 years as a charter network, we have achieved significant results across student outcomes (including alumni success), quality reports, and awards and recognitions. In our 22-year history, dc prep has consistently been among the highest performing networks of public charter schools in our nation's capital. Each year, dc prep campuses are recognized by local nonprofit empowerk12 for outsized academic gains among its at-risk students. In 2024, anacostia middle campus and edgewood middle campus were named empowerk12 bold performance schools. All three middle campuses were recognized by the dc math hub and empower k12 in their 2024 dc math report for fastest growing math scores citywide. One-hundred percent of our alumni have been accepted to a college-preparatory high school, earning a cumulative $13 million in scholarship support. Our all-time high school graduation rate is 94%, compared to the citywide rate of 75%. Our alumni graduate college at four times the rate of their peers, both locally and nationally.all dc public charter schools must undergo the accreditation process every five years to remain eligible for operation in the city. The accreditation process is conducted by an independent third-party accreditation organization to evaluate an lea's performance against a number of performance standards evaluating leadership, learning, and resource capacity. In its most recent accreditation review by cognia, dc prep earned an index of education quality (ieq) score of 387 out of a possible 400 points. The five-year average of institutions in cognia's accreditation network is 278-283.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 70%; rating input score 70
• Program expense ratio: 84%; rating input score 84
• Fundraising efficiency: $153.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

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: 18%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.34; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.63; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings