The Accelerated Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954487850
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
323-846-6694
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$42,406,483
Expenses
$43,465,321
Assets
$107,555,515
Liabilities
$19,856,813

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LEONARD RABINOWITZ (PRESIDENT)
  • PETER B MORRISON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JESSE MELGARES (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • GRACE LEE-CHANG (FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • CYNTHIA FOLEY (CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER): $291,324 total reported compensation
  • DEBBIE KUKTA (CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER/CFO): $275,974 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT FRENCH (DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES): $235,649 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Accelerated Schools is a group of three charter schools in South Los Angeles that views every child as gifted. Their mission is to ensure each and every student develops skills and values to think critically, solve problems, succeed, and lead.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization operates three charter schools; the accelerated school (tas), accelerated elementary charter school (aces), and wallis annenberg high school (wahs). Tas currently serves approximately 730 students in grades transitional kindergarten through eight. Aces currently serves approximately 525 students in grades transitional kindergarten through six. Wahs currently serves approximately 485 students in grades nine through twelve.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 94% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 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: -2.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.47; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 82.1% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $33.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $291K · 18 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.9M 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: 12 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.