The Village School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222170151
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Waldwick, NJ, USA
Phone
2014456160
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,340,945
Expenses
$6,127,931
Assets
$14,102,082
Liabilities
$5,931,453

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURA DYKSTRA (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $182,957 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission, in partnership with teachers, parents and students, is to nurture a lifelong love of learning. Our "whole child" focus creates self-motivated, creative critical thinkers and kind, responsible global citizens. We are unflagging in our commitment to our students and strive to create an exceptional and authentic montessori environment, so that each student may achieve their maximum potential.

What it reported doing in 2024

Ensure all programs offer the highest quality education according to montessori standards. Increased innovation, quality assurance communication across the school community, and full enrollment.the village school is guided by the theory and practice of the montessori philosophy and believes that it is fundamentally important to:1. Foster a lifelong love of learning.2. Impart a challenging curriculum that supports and respects individual learning styles in multi-age classrooms.3. Educate the whole child by recognizing and respecting the physical, emotional, and intellectual individuality of each child.4. Nurture in each child creativity, independence, self-confidence, and the joy of discovery.5. Provide well-structured environments, order and orientation in classrooms, proper sequencing of materials, and a consistent educational approach.6. Encourage sensitivity and awareness for all people and cultures as well as for the global environment.7. Affirm and support the value of family-school partnerships by encouraging active family involvement.8. Develop a sense of community in and out of classrooms by encouraging cooperative learning, problem solving, and community service.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 86.5%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.4%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.3; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.9% of revenue deployed · 86.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $183K · 10 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $122K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.