The Children's School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581091170
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4048736985
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,521,626
Expenses
$11,601,265
Assets
$19,665,642
Liabilities
$8,521,119

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Roslyn Benjamin (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $309,730 total reported compensation
  • Erika Ellison (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $167,299 total reported compensation
  • Elena Jaime (DIRECTOR OF LOWER SCHOOL): $153,647 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 mission of the children's school is to enrich minds and inspire dreams. The children's school is a progressive elementary school serving students from age 3 through eighth grade in a diverse community in midtown atlanta. Grounded in principles of excellence, innovation and play, the children's school graduates passion-driven young adults who lead lives of purpose in an interconnected world.

What it reported doing in 2024

The learning strategies and academic support services program provides essential academic support through executive functioning coaching, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology (slp) services, and literacy support. Lsass serves 77 students from 3 years old to 8th grade. Our specialists offer one-on-one sessions, small group instruction, and collaborate with classroom teachers to ensure all students have access to necessary learning materials. Additionally, they play a key role in facilitating digital assessments and implementing learning accommodations to meet diverse student needs. By integrating these services, we strive to create an inclusive and supportive educational environment. Our commitment to personalized learning ensures that every student receives the tools and strategies needed for academic success.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.3%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 21st 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: -10.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.7; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.3% of revenue deployed · 77.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $310K · 25 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $387K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.