Albuquerque Academy

“Form 990 is prepared by the Academy's Controller with a review by the Academy's Business Manager, other key members of the Academy's management team and by an external tax preparer. The Board of Trustee's Audit & Risk Committee members with Academy employees (Head of School, Treasurer, Business Manager and Director of Finance) review the form in detail prior to filing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Trustee members utilize this time to ask questions, clarify data and make suggestions for any changes. Any agreed upon changes are incorporated into the Form, with a final review undertaken by the Controller and the Business Manager. The Form is submitted electronically to the IRS in a timely manner. The Board of Trustees receive the Form 990 prior to the filing of the return. The Academy values those few donors who request that they remain anonymous to the community. To that end, to protect such donors and keep the school's promise that their identity will not be widely known, Schedule B of Form 990 is not provided to all Trustees of the Academy. All other portions of the Form 990 are provided to all Trustees. To be sure the board is aware of gifts and to protect the organization from the potential of inappropriate gifts to the school, the Board Chair, Head of School, Treasurer, and Director of Institutional Advancement are fully aware of the identity of all donors. Should any one of them determine that a donation might be inappropriate or pose a conflict with the organization, they are charged with raising the issue with the full board. The Academy publishes a comprehensive giving report on an annual basis that is available to the public.”

“The conflict of interest statement is directed to the Trustees, officers, those who make purchasing decisions, all persons who are described as management personnel and to anyone who has proprietary information concerning the Academy. Each employee must sign a statement annually which affirms such person has received a copy of the conflict of interest policy, has read and understands the policy and has agreed to comply with the policy. The conflict of interest statement requires that individuals refrain from voting or participating in any matter or issue in which they have any potential conflict of interest. This is to ensure the Academy operates in a manner consistent with charitable purposes and does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status. Periodic review shall, at a minimum, include whether transactions between employees and the Academy are negotiated as the result of "arm's length bargaining and whether partnerships, joint ventures and any other business arrangements with the school are properly recorded. Transactions are further reviewed to ensure they reflect reasonable investment or payment for goods and services, they further charitable purposes and they do not result in inurement, impermissible private benefit or any excess benefit transaction. Accounting and other personnel are encouraged to report a situation involving a potential conflict of interest to an appropriate school official.”

“The executive committee of the Board of Trustees takes responsibility for the evaluation of its two direct reports, the Head of School and the Treasurer, and for the determination of compensation for each of those individuals. The executive committee consists of the Board Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Assistant Treasurer, and two at-large board members appointed by the Chair. All board members, including the members of the executive committee, submit a conflict of interest disclosure statement to the Chair of the board annually. These are utilized to determine that the committee members do not have any undisclosed conflicts of interest and they do not have any direct financial interest in the compensation provided to the Head of School or the Treasurer. In addition, at the time the executive committee considers compensation questions, each committee member is asked again to confirm that they do not have any conflicts of interest. The executive committee has, in some years, retained a compensation consultant intimately familiar with compensation for the heads of independent schools both in the region and nationally. The consultant has no financial or other interest in the compensation decisions made. The consultant has prepared a study of up to thirty or forty schools that are or may be comparable to the Academy in terms of complexity, size of operating budget, grade range and student body size. The consultant also considers heads of school with experience levels comparable to the Academy's Head of School. The consultant's compensation information includes evidence of salary, bonuses, benefits and other non-cash consideration that other heads of school may receive. The executive committee considers the information assembled by the consultant, and in addition, information gathered from Form 990's of other independent schools, news sources and independent school associations, in setting compensation for the Head of School, together with any information obtained from any evaluations that may have been performed, ordinarily in the spring and early summer, in advance of the beginning of the Academy's fiscal year. The executive committee maintains minutes of its meetings, including those in which compensation matters are considered. The Chair of the board reports the compensation decisions to the full board. The most recent compensation consultant study was completed during the 2009/10 fiscal year. The compensation consultant provided a letter to the Academy's executive committee confirming his judgment that the Head of School's compensation was reasonable and appropriate. As noted, this information is supplemented by more recent information. Determining comparability of the Treasurer's compensation is more difficult because of the paucity of information available. The Treasurer's position at the Academy involves a fairly unique set of responsibilities in independent schools, ranging from management of a substantial endowment to a wide range of debt management, legal, business, and financial matters. One of the reports done by the compensation consultant did include information regarding the Treasurer's compensation by comparability to the second highest paid officer of the subject schools. That information, coupled with information from a survey by an Association of School Business Officers, certain Form 990 information, and the knowledge of the members of the executive committee of compensation levels prevailing in the geographic area for persons with the skill set and work ethic necessary to fill this office have been used to set compensation since that study. The executive committee continues to look for additional means of doing comparisons of compensation. The executive committee uses additional resources for making compensation decisions. Form 990's from comparable schools continue to allow the Academy to proceed during most years, by considering those (perhaps with a limited accounting firm confirmation o”

“The Academy keeps a database (updated annually) of financial institutions, bondholders and vendors who have requested a copy of the Academy's audited financial statements as a condition of providing credit and services to the school. After the financial statement audit is completed and accepted by the Board of Trustees, electronic copies of the statements are distributed to all entities in the database. The Academy does not currently make its governing documents or conflict of interest policy statements available to the public.”

“The Academy was the fortunate recipient of a transformational gift of land in the early sixties, and fittingly, has chosen to use this gift to ensure economic accessibility to students living throughout the city of Albuquerque and the region. Today the Academy offers students an education that is without equal in the Southwest. Students from approximately 90 area schools are served by teachers who deliver their subject matter in creative and engaging ways. Students in the 6/7 division follow a non-traditional schedule that allows adaptability in an ever-changing world. Students in the 8/9 division are given their own campus space and their own accountability to help them grow into confident young adults. For the 10/12 division, course work involves increasingly philospohical and analytical thought. Academy students serve the community to which they belong, compete in a variety of competitive sports and participate in a variety of academic clubs and student organizations. Most Academy students attend four-year colleges and universities upon graduation, many of them enrolling at some of the best universities in the country. Admission to the Academy is competitive; approximately 59% of those who apply are offered admission. For the 2014/15 school year, the student body consisted of 48% boys and 52% girls, 50% are students of color, and 25% received approximately $4.3 million in financial assistance. Financial assistance is based on demonstrated financial need; only after students are admitted and their needs are assessed might financial assistance be offered.”

“We believe that children's lives change when their natural passion for learning is nurtured and transformed into habits of life-long learning and reflection. We believe that the world changes as these children learn to serve country and community with wisdom, conviction, and compassion. In light of these beliefs: We serve students of talent and character, offering them an education that broadens their perspective, sharpens their minds, strengthens their bodies, and engages their hearts. We commit to creating a caring, inclusive, and just community, using the geography and culture of our home in the Southwest to enrich our educational programs and to foster creativity, personal balance and a connection to the natural world. We devote our resources to ensure economic accessibility to our students and to support the wider community through outreach and community service. We entrust this mission to our graduates and successors as we preserve our resources and serve the children of generations to come.”

“The following disclosure is from the Academy's audited financial statements for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2015 and 2014. Media Literacy Project was founded in 1993, is a nationally recognized leader in media literacy education, and was headquartered on the Academy campus. Its mission was to cultivate critical thinking and activism in media culture to build healthy and just communities. Over the past several years, Media Literacy Project experienced continual difficulty in obtaining funding to support its mission and operations. As a result of the continued difficulties experienced by the program, management of the Academy has ceased operations effective June 30, 2015 of Media Literacy Project. There are no continuing cash flows from Media Literacy.”

“The Academy opened its doors in the fall of 1955 with 12 boys in grades 7 through 9, two teachers, and founding Head William Wilburn. Classes were held in rented space in the Parish Hall of St. Michael's and All Angels Church. In 1957, enrollment had grown to 75 boys and the school moved to a 27-acre site on north Edith Boulevard in Albuquerque, NM. The first class of seven boys graduated in 1960. In 1966, the school moved to its present location, and in 1967/68 was home to 405 boys. Girls were admitted beginning in 1973. For the school year 2014/15, the Academy served 1,129 girls and boys in grades 6 through 12. The Academy's remarkable growth was made possible largely through the transformational gift of Albert G. Simms, a New Mexico financier and rancher, and his wife, Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms. In the early 1960's the Simms gave or bequeathed to the Academy (in trust) more than 12,000 acres of undeveloped land and 8,000 shares of Albuquerque National Bank stock. The undeveloped land has been sold resulting in the endowment that today enables education in a beautiful and uplifting environment, and also has provided the school its campus. The uniqueness of the Academy is due, in large part, to its commitment to its admission policy, and to providing accessibility to qualified students from throughout the greater Albuquerque community. Every Academy student benefits from the school's commitment to accessibility and affordability. Direct support from the endowment covers approximately 25% of the cost not covered by tuition. A further commitment of the Academy is to diversity and dedicating the school's resources to creating an environment in which all students can thrive. It is the responsibility of all the school's constituents to make this environment conducive to learning and to foster mutual respect for one another. Students of color (including students of Middle Eastern, Hispanic, African American, Asian, and Native American ancestry) represented approximately 50% of the total student population for the 2014/15 school year. Appreciation for diversity is also extended to those of various socioeconomic levels. The Academy has chosen to voluntarily participate in the USDA's National School Lunch Program which provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free breakfast and lunch to students each school day. Academy students benefit academically from small classes (averaging 16 students in the 6/7 division to 15 in the 10/12 division) and a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:9. 268 Academy students took advanced placement exams during the 2014/15 school year; of these students who took an advanced placement exam 74% received scores of 4 or 5, and 90% received a score of 3 or above. The 2015 graduating class had 27 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, 14 commended students and 15 National Hispanic Scholars. Almost all Academy graduates enroll in a four-year college or university immediately upon graduation.”

“The Academy summer session offered the opportunity to 1,877 children of the greater Albuquerque community (most non-affiliated with the regular school year) to participate in an enriching and exciting summer experience during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015. The program had 283 class offereings including early childhood programs, a day camp, various sports camps and swim instruction for children from preschool to high school. Credit classes in math and science are also offered to high school students. An integral part of the session is the Multicultural Summer Honors Program, a summer scholarship program for academically talented and motivated African American, Native American, Hispanic, and other students who will be entering the fourth and fifth grades. The summer program has been an integral part of the Academy since 1984, reinforcing the school's unique mission of accessibility, affordability, excellence and outreach. The program also builds a broader sense of community as summer students and their siblings, as well as children of faculty and alumni, return summer after summer. The session is staffed by qualified and talented individuals who come from throughout New Mexico and the wider national and international educational community. The teacher/student ratios for the summer session offered for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 were 1:5 for the day camp, 1:8 for the children's workshop, 1:12 for pre-grade 1, 1:13 for pre-grade 2-3, and 1:15 for all other programs offered.”

“The food service department serves the Academy community by providing nutritious meals, prepared with care, presented in an attractive manner, and served in a friendly atmosphere by a courteous staff within budgetary guidelines and in an environmentally sustainable way. The Academy dining halls provide lunch every school day for students, faculty, and staff. Lunch is included in the price of tuition and students are required to attend lunch as part of the regular school day. Students may self-select from hot or cold sandwiches, a salad bar, pasta and pizza, home-style items, Southwestern and Asian fare, soup, and milk/juice choices. In grades 6-9, nine to ten students and one faculty member eat at each table. Lunch tables are assigned and change on a regulary scheduled basis. In grades 10-12, students have open seating and may eat anytime during this division's open lunch period. The Academy participates in the USDA National School Lunch Program and follows the nutrition guidelines specified for these meals for students in grades 6-12. Calories, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, cholesterol, and sodium are evaluated during menu planning and meet the USDA requirement when averaged over a week. Total fat is planned to be 30% or less and saturated fat 10% or less.”

“The Academy has an Audit and Risk Committee that assumes responsibility for oversight of the annual financial statement audit and the resulting financial statements. The Audit and Risk Committee is also responsible for assessing and selecting the external audit firm of the Academy. The Academy did not change its oversight or selection process for the appointment of its external audit firm during the tax year currently being reported on.”