Noble Schools
Legal name: Noble Network of Charter Schools
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 364241970
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- (833) BE-NOBLE
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $230,347,701
- Expenses
- $236,306,219
- Assets
- $259,224,671
- Liabilities
- $89,291,335
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL MADDEN (PRESIDENT)
- BRENDA CORA (CEO (STARTED 01/25) AND CHIEF SCHOOLS OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- CONSTANCE JONES (SENIOR ADVISOR (TERM 05/25)): $373,634 total reported compensation
- ELLEN METZ (HEAD OF SCHOOLS): $276,475 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER REID DAVIS (HEAD OF STRATEGY & EQUITY): $267,981 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Noble will ensure that all students have equitable and positive school experiences that equip them to complete college and lead choice-filled lives. Visit www.nobleschools.org/immigration-support for information and resources regarding immigration supports in Chicago. + + ×. We believe that children need a caring place that can be an extension of their home and family. We embrace each child as a part of our family here. We also believe that every moment in a child’s day is a teachable moment. We must provide a variety of activities throughout every day to reach every child’s potential and encourage many different levels of developmental growth. Noble Day Care will achieve this by providing a good balance of self-directed and teacher-directed activities throughout the day to provide as many opportunities as possible for each child to develop and grow socially, emotionally...
What it reported doing in 2024
Opened in 2010, noble day care, l3c (ndc) provides an enriching educational experience to the approximately 37 children enrolled in the program. Ndc's educational model follows a balanced approach of free exploration, natural environment learning with guidance, and built-in structured activities. Qualified teachers provide a set curriculum and prepare assessments to ensure the children are meeting developmental goals through their learning. Ndc is also an approved site for noble network of charter schools' students who can earn volunteer hours for participating in ndc activities and helping out around the facility.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 88% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - 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: 90
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.7%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $379.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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: 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: -2.6%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.1; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 90.7% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $208.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $374K · 29 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $18.3M reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 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.
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.