Highland Park Montessori School Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 410871666
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Saint Paul, MN, USA
- Phone
- 6516905327
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $798,305
- Expenses
- $761,917
- Assets
- $340,521
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Catherine Bishop (President)
- Evan Hansell (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Sarah Terrell (Head of School): $72,982 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Montessori education is a progressive, scientifically based method that was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori through decades of observing how children learn. For over 100 yesr, Montessori education continues to inspire children and celebrate their love of learning, individual growth, and independence within the context of a social community. . HPMS fosters positive social growth in an authentic community of children. Boys and girls of all socio-economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds learn together in multi-age classrooms. Lessons in Grace and Courtesy model appropriate ways for children to interact in social situations. Throughout their days, every child has opportunities to be both learner and leader, where self-esteem develops naturally.
What it reported doing in 2024
In the Toddler Community there are mixed ages between 16 and 33 months, and in the Children's House, there are mixed ages between 33 months and six years. In a mixed age group setting, children of different ages help one another. The younger ones learn from the older and the older teach the younger. An older child understands the younger child and can offer help. The three year old is interested in what the child of five is doing and knows they too will reach that point in their own development. In the Children's House setting, the child goes from being the youngest to being the oldest. Each child has the experience of learning from, and teaching others.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 93% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.1%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $19.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th 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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 4.6%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.6%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.1% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $663K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $73K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.