Springside Chestnut Hill Academy

What it reported doing in 2024

Distinguished by its innovative academic programs and single-sex to coed educational model, springside chestnut hill academy (sch) offers students - 18 months to 18 years - a welcoming learning community set on a 62-acre urban oasis at the edge of the wissahickon valley in chestnut hill, philadelphia.continued on schedule o combining 300 years of academic excellence through the merger of springside school and chestnut hill academy, sch is now the largest independent school in the city, with over 1,200 students. Deeply talented educators prepare our students to be thoughtful, curious, and independent thinkers with the skillset and mindset for future success.the school's premier facilities, from makerspaces to turf fields, draw students from more than 100 zip codes. Signature programs include entrepreneurial leadership, robotics and engineering, classic and tech-forward arts, a boots-on outdoor education, and a reggio emilia-inspired early childhood center.five values serve as the foundation for our teaching and community spirit: diversity, integrity, resilience, courage, and thoughtfulness.distinctive features of sch facilities: - the 19th-century wissahickon inn, home to the upper school division and administrative offices, listed in the national register of historic places - 17 laboratories, including a 1,600-square-foot, state-of-the-art engineering and robotics lab, the jamie bell recording studio for video and music production, imagineering lab and physics and engineering lab for lower school - certified leed gold science & technology building - 6 sol lewitt installations and a violet oakley mural - 1/2-acre solar array rooftop installation - low and high ropes challenge course - 5 performing arts venues - fabrication and design spaces, including 13 3d printers and 2 laser cutters - early childhood center focused on the reggio emilia approach - new state-of-the-art fitness center - 2 resurfaced turf fields with organic infill - new upper school commons - the wissahickon valley as an outdoor classroompoints of pride: - each season, sch athletes are selected to all-inter-ac teams and sign with colleges and universities around the country to pursue their passion at the next level. Sch has earned both inter-ac titles and state championships. - upper school students have 100+ electives from which to choose, including forensics, architectural design, advanced creative writing, and vector calculus. - sch's upper school robotics team was part of first's 2019 detroit world championship-winning alliance. Over the past 21 years, the team has finished in the top 10 at "worlds and won the coveted first chairman's award 8 times. Robotics students have been accepted into the nation's top engineering programs, including princeton, mit, caltech, penn, brown, columbia, cornell, carnegie mellon, johns hopkins, Georgia tech, clemson, rpi, wpi, rose hulman, and all three military academies.- 73% of sch faculty hold advanced degrees and an average of 17 years of teaching experience.- 90% of students in the class of 2025 were accepted into one of their top two college choices.- sch's unique center for entrepreneurial leadership (cel) curriculum has been licensed internationally and is recognized as a leader in entrepreneurship education. - sch affirms that diversity is a condition of excellence and that embracing a diverse, inclusive community is fundamental to providing the most rigorous, globally competitive education. At sch, we aim to engage, understand, and celebrate the broad range of human experiences and perspectives. Through our curriculum, professional development, community-centered events, and daily interactions, we are committed to cultivating empathy and inclusion and nurturing the authentic expression of every individual.- recent graduates include an olympic gold medalist, the recipient of the "rising star award" from first robotics, a forbes magazine "30 under 30" summit participant, a philadelphia business journal "40 under 40"

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 97.2%; rating input score 97
• Program expense ratio: 90.2%; rating input score 90
• Fundraising efficiency: $2.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • 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: -2.2%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.19; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings