Lake Forest Elementary Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204731962
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Orleans, LA, USA
Phone
5048267140
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,160,643
Expenses
$10,158,046
Assets
$7,668,479
Liabilities
$162,624

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GINA DUPART (PRESIDENT)
  • MARDELE S EARLY (FOUNDING CEO)
  • RYAN DEROUSSELLE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SCHOOL)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARDELE S EARLY (FOUNDING CEO): $313,175 total reported compensation
  • RYAN DEROUSSELLE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SCHOOL): $174,099 total reported compensation
  • BERNELL ST CYR (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OP): $158,722 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide a nurturing environment, which facilitates maximum student achievement through a rigorous, accelerated academic program incorporating visual, cultural and creative arts, which will ultimately enhance each student's ability to become (cont'd on sch. O) a global, contributing citizen.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lake forest elementary charter school's primary program service is the education of students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Enrollment for 2024-2025 was 693. The school's focal point is high student achievement, by offering a program that includes research-based curriculum and data driven instruction. With consistent, instructional monitoring and management, the program inspires the students to love and respect learning at a high level. While providing a nurturing environment, the school is able to facilitate maximum student achievement through a rigorous, accelerated academic program incorporating visual, cultural and creative arts, which will ultimately enhance each student's ability to become a global, contributing citizen. (continued on schedule o)in addition to being recognized as an a+, 5 star school, the school has been the recipient of many honors and awards, such as:- lsu ag center - "2010 Louisiana school of character" for the commitment to implementing a quality character education initative and helping develop good character.- 2009 and 2016 national title 1 distinguished school for "exceptional student performance for consecutive years." this program honors schools across the country for their innovation in helping title i populations attain high student achievements.- 2013 ranked one of the highest performing charter schools in Louisiana by u.s. Secretary of education, arne duncan. - 2013 and 2021 national blue ribbon school for the schools "exemplary high performing" in which schools are recognized among all schools in the united states as the highest performing schools measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests as ranked by united states secretary of education. The school's ceo received the terrell h. Bell award for outstanding leadership in 2021 from united states department of education. - 2015-16 "a" award of top achievement by the orleans parish school board- 2016-17 "a" award of top achievement by the orleans parish school board- 2017-2018 "a" award for top achievement & "a" exemplary student growth by the orleans parish school board- 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 received an award for partnership with fitnola, promoting physical activity and improved nutrition- consistently ranked as the highest performing k-8 school in the state and in the city of new orleans.- 2017 fit nola platinum awardthe school received the "a" award for top achievement, the "a" exemplary student growth award, and the top gains honoree award for the following years: 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019. 2018-2019 a student, lauren ejiaga, won the $10,000 national science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) talent award prize. 2018-2019 rachel frazer, eighth grade Louisiana studies instructional leader, recipient of the new orleans excellence in teaching award.on november 13, 2024 the organization was recognized as a national esea distinguished school.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70% of revenue deployed · 69.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $313K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $770K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.