The Hockaday School
Legal name: Hockaday School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 750800650
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Dallas, TX, United States
- Phone
- (214) 363-6311
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $59,428,134
- Expenses
- $54,214,322
- Assets
- $403,359,930
- Liabilities
- $53,234,649
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
56 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- DR LAURA LEATHERS (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $796,922 total reported compensation
- RANDALL RHODUS (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $350,680 total reported compensation
- JESSICA EPPERSON (DIR OF DEVELOPMENT & STRATEGIC INITI): $329,120 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Believing in the limitless potential of girls, Hockaday develops resilient, confident women who are educated and inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact. At this time, Hockaday is not accepting TEFA funds. Before making any decision about accepting funding from this program, Hockaday’s Leadership Team and Board of Trustees are carefully reviewing the educational, financial, and operational implications for the School. If Hockaday makes a decision to accept funds from the program, we will communicate promptly with families and provide any necessary next steps. We are deeply committed to our robust, need-based financial aid program, and feel it best serves our mission. Hockaday strives to meet 100% of demonstrated need. What world languages are offered and when?
What it reported doing in 2024
The school provided a college preparatory education for lower, middle, and upper school girls with strong potential who may be expected to assume positions of responsibility and leadership in later years. There were 1,113 day students for the 2024-2025 academic year. In addition, the school provided educational programs in the summer and after school.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 78% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 70
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 81.6%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 8.8%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.44; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 81.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 49 of 49 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $44.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $797K · 56 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.3M reported
- Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.