2017-11-09T09:36:45-06:00 2017-06-30 BKD LLP 14241 DALLAS PARKWAY SUITE 1100 DALLAS TX 75254 990 2016-07-01 205946552 Real School Gardens % NAMRATA MAGUIRE REA 2026212375 5520 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 20 Washington DC 20015 JEANNE MCCARTY CEO 2017-11-15 true Jeanette Verrelli P00742631 9727028262 2016 2022-09-23 18:48:47Z JEANNE MCCARTY 5520 CONNECTICUT AVE NW 200 WASHINGTON DC 20015 2564730 false X WWW.REALSCHOOLGARDENS.ORG X 2007 TX WE TRAIN TEACHERS TO USE SCHOOL GARDENS TO IMPROVE EXPERIENTIAL INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS. WE ALSO PARTNER WITH CORPORATIONS TO BUILD OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS. (continued on sch O) 10 9 24 2000 0 4160755 1711345 133400 403511 1594 260 272 0 4296021 2115116 0 0 0 0 1253746 1804549 0 0 542547 797118 1192183 2050864 2996732 2245157 -881616 3607114 2740153 105688 111869 3501426 2628284 X We create learning gardens that grow successful students. false false 797673 387374 REAL School Gardens provides multi-year professional development programs for elementary school teachers to help them integrate gardens into everyday academic instruction. In addition to enhancing Math and Language Arts instruction with hands-on outdoor lessons, we boost Science and Nutrition instruction, which is often neglected in elementary education. In FY 2017 we: - Trained 1,377 teachers - Impacted 62,562 students daily To date weve seen the following measures of success: - 94% of teachers reported that the REAL School Gardens program increased student engagement. - The REAL School Gardens program increases teacher effectiveness and job satisfaction. - More than 90% of educators agreed that the training connected directly with the state curriculum standards and that they would be able to apply what they learned right away. - After completing just one year of the REAL School Gardens program, more than half the teachers use the learning garden so much, it's like a second classroom. Once the professional development program concludes, school partners may participate in our Evergreen Program and receive ongoing training and support. REAL School Gardens is also building a Digital Education Platform, a mobile-friendly, how-to teacher professional development site featuring step-by-step lesson plans and model teaching videos that teachers can access anytime during the partnership. 977543 16137 REAL School Gardens designs and builds state-of-the-art outdoor classrooms on low-income school campuses. We partner with corporations and foundations to fund the construction of the space, and develop partnerships with schools, parents, and the local community to ensure our spaces are properly maintained for years to come. We create outdoor classrooms with two important steps: Community Design - REAL School Gardens Landscape Architects work with school staff, parents, community members, our funding partners, and most importantly the students themselves to design a learning garden that's functional, beautiful, and tailored to each school's specific needs. The Big Dig! - Once the design is finalized, it's time to build the learning garden during our one-day Big Dig event. On the day of the Big Dig, between 100-300 volunteers including our funding partners, kids, their parents and teachers work together to install the learning garden. Not only is the Big Dig a fun and fulfilling day of volunteerism for employees, but funding partners use the events to boost their CSR goals, improve their media relations, and create amazing imagery for social media and annual reports. Schools district leaders love the way these high-energy barn-raising style events focus attention on large educational, health, and environmental initiatives, and spotlight the great work Title 1 schools do to help low-income children succeed. In FY 2017 we: - Built 13 outdoor classrooms - Enhanced 11 learning gardens - Served 110 school partners 479298 To promote the creation of school gardens nationwide and increase their use for academic instruction, we work to raise the general publics awareness around the importance and effectiveness of daily hands-on experiential learning and real-world, outdoor teaching. By attending conferences and publishing articles in both education and school garden-focused outlets, we ensure that these larger conversations are informed by our findings, experiences, and best-practices. To help scale REAL School Gardens impact nation-wide, we will be forming partnerships with other education and school-garden focused organizations that are already serving low-income schools. Since many of these existing groups are focused on the environment and nutrition, we are also developing complementary curriculum resources and programming to help embed nutrition education and environmental literacy into daily academic lessons. Our thought leadership in this space will encourage school districts to invest more in professional development and campus infrastructure to improve experiential outdoor teaching. 2254514 true true false false false false false false false false true false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false true 32 0 24 true false false false false false false false false false false X 10 9 false true false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true true false false X NAMRATA MAGUIRE 2026212375 5520 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW 200 WASHINGTON DC 20015 JEANNE MCCARTY CEO 40.0 0.0 X X 148781 0 1620 ARMANDO DE CASTRO DIRECTOR 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 KAREN DIELMAN DIRECTOR 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 HANK HARRIS DIRECTOR 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 JULIE NEIMAT BOARD CO-CHAIR 2.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 DR ERNIE J SMITH DIRECTOR 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 SHALLY STANLEY DIRECTOR 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 DALE STEWART DIRECTOR 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 FRED THOMPSON DIRECTOR 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 CAROLYN WALSH Board Co-Chair 2.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 NAMRATA MAGUIRE DIR. FINANCE/OP 15.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 148781 0 1620 1 false true false 0 135000 12500 1563845 72608 1711345 Teacher Training 900099 403511 403511 403511 92 92 0 0 0 0 0 449782 449614 168 168 168 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2115116 403511 260 0 0 0 0 150401 60160 45121 45120 0 1395225 1102081 58242 234902 691 520 46 125 132473 100233 8449 23791 125759 94612 8379 22768 0 3479 2617 232 630 106399 80047 7089 19263 0 0 0 141218 106242 9409 25567 33279 25037 2217 6025 67474 50762 4496 12216 38070 28641 2537 6892 0 110807 83363 7383 20061 122927 92481 8191 22255 0 2595 1952 173 470 0 0 20211 15205 1347 3659 10017 7536 667 1814 SUPPLIES 33810 25436 2253 6121 Garden Materials 386294 290618 25739 69937 Education Programming 98454 74069 6560 17825 RECRUITMENT 11020 8291 734 1995 6129 4611 407 1111 2996732 2254514 199671 542547 162320 142855 123790 80718 2185594 879732 37182 122828 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17873 19057 338936 306669 28649 32267 1051706 1456696 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6000 3607114 2740153 105688 111869 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 105688 111869 X 1412925 1302168 2088501 1326116 0 0 3501426 2628284 3607114 2740153 -881616 8474 X X false true X true false X 1339673 1154253 1688377 4160755 1711345 10054403 0 0 1339673 1154253 1688377 4160755 1711345 10054403 2906545 7147858 2286 2030 837 1594 92 6839 0 1882 691 732 272 0 3577 10064819 891646 0.71018 0.63610 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 339936 306669 32267 32267 2146650 8474 23060 31534 2115116 2115116 3019792 23060 23060 2996732 2996732 SCHEDULE D, PART X, LINE 2 ASC 740 FOOTNOTE: MANAGEMENT HAS EVALUATED THEIR INCOME TAX POSITIONS UNDER THE GUIDANCE INCLUDED IN ASC 740. BASED ON THEIR REVIEW, MANAGEMENT HAS NOT IDENTIFIED ANY MATERIAL UNCERTAIN TAX POSITIONS TO BE RECORDED OR DISCLOSED IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. X X false false false false false false false false false JEANNE MCCARTY CEO 148781 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1620 0 150401 0 X 1 1126 FMV X MEMORIAL BENCHES 2 1472 FMV X GARDEN EQUIPMENT 1 46000 FMV X PLANTS & MATERIALS 12 7435 FMV X SEED PACKETS 1 15000 FMV X OFFICE FURNITURE 1 1400 FMV X TICKETS 1 175 FMV false true false Schedule M, Part I, Column B Number of contributions or items contributed: The numbers disclosed in this column reflect the number of contributions received. FORM 990, PART I, LINE 1 ORGANIZATION'S ACTIVITIES: REAL SCHOOL GARDENS IS A NATIONAL NONPROFIT THAT TRAINS TEACHERS TO USE GARDENS AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL TOOL TO INCREASE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. WE ALSO BUILD AND ENHANCE LEARNING GARDENS WITH TEACHER-FRIENDLY INSTRUCTIONAL FEATURES SO THE SPACES FUNCTION AS OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS. SCHOOL PARTNERS REPORT INCREASES IN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS, AND TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION, CRITICAL MEASURES OF LONG-TERM SUCCESS IN LOW-INCOME SCHOOLS. OVER THE LAST DECADE, REAL SCHOOL GARDENS HAS PARTNERED WITH MORE THAN 20 SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO REACH APPROX. 200 SCHOOLS, 7,000 TEACHERS, AND 110,000 STUDENTS IN MARYLAND, NORTH CAROLINA, TEXAS, VIRGINIA, AND WASHINGTON D.C. REAL SCHOOL GARDENS IS POISED FOR EXPANSION AS PART OF OUR NATIONAL GROWTH PLAN. BY 2020, WE WILL BE IN 6 REGIONS AND 15 CITIES, REACHING 285 NEW SCHOOL PARTNERS. THIS EXPANSION WILL PROPEL THE ORGANIZATION FROM SERVING 15 NEW SCHOOL PARTNERS EACH YEAR TO SERVING MORE THAN 100 NEW PARTNERS EACH YEAR, TRANSLATING TO NEARLY 10,000 NEW TEACHERS TRAINED AND MORE THAN 155,000 ADDITIONAL STUDENTS SERVED EVERY DAY. THE ORGANIZATION PASSED SEVERAL BIG MILESTONES TOWARDS OUR NATIONAL GROWTH STRATEGY THIS YEAR, INCLUDING: - PARTNERING WITH 150TH SCHOOL TO-DATE - ESTABLISHING CAROLINAS REGIONAL OFFICE IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - EXPANDING THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION TO BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - RECRUITING SCHOOL PARTNERS TO ESTABLISH A SOUTHEAST REGION IN FY2018 FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION A, LINE 3 DELEGATION OF CONTROL OVER MANAGEMENT DUTIES: THE DAILY MANAGEMENT OF THE ACCOUNTING AND FINANCES OF REAL SCHOOL GARDENS IS PERFORMED BY THE STAFF OF NEW LEAF CHANGE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF NAMRATA MAGUIRE. PER IRS GUIDANCE, NO COMPENSATION IS SHOWN ON THE FORM 990, PART VII FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR FOR THIS INDIVIDUAL: NAMRATA MAGUIRE $ 49,800 FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B REVIEW OF FORM 990: THE FORM 990 IS INITIALLY REVIEWED BY THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. THE DOCUMENT IS REFINED THEN DISTRIBUTED TO THE FULL BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR REVIEW AND COMMENT. THE FORM 990 IS THEN FINALIZED AND SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C CONFLICT OF INTEREST: ALL NEW EMPLOYEES ARE BRIEFED ABOUT THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY AS PART OF AN ORIENTATION ABOUT STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT FOR THE ORGANIZATION. THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY IS REVIEWED WITH ALL EMPLOYEES AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS EACH FALL. AT THIS TIME, EACH DIRECTOR, OFFICER, AND EMPLOYEE IS ASKED TO ACKNOWLEDGE IN WRITING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE POLICY. IN ADDITION, EACH DIRECTOR, OFFICER AND EMPLOYEE IS ASKED TO COMPLETE A DISCLOSURE FORM THAT IDENTIFIES ANY RELATIONSHIPS, POSITIONS, OR CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MIGHT REPRESENT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE SERVES AS THE COMPLIANCE OFFICER FOR THE ORGANIZATION, INVESTIGATING ANY REPORTED VIOLATIONS TO THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY. FINDINGS ARE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, INCLUDING THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AND APPROPRIATE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ARE DETERMINED. POSSIBLE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS INCLUDE FORMALLY ENDING EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT PRESENT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR VOLUNTARILY EXITING FROM THE BOARD OR COMPANY. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15A COMPENSATION REVIEW: THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, LED BY THE BOARD CO-CHAIRS, ESTABLISHES COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. A COMPENSATION SURVEY OR STUDY IS USED DURING THIS PROCESS TO DETERMINE A MARKET RANGE, AS IN BENCHMARKING WITH SELECT EDUCATION NON-PROFITS. COMPENSATION IS FINALIZED WITHIN THE MARKET RATE RANGE BASED ON EXPERIENCE, EARNINGS HISTORY, AND RESULTS THE SELECTED CANDIDATE DEMONSTRATED IN RECENT ROLES. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVES THE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS PACKAGE FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND DIRECTOR OF FINANCE ESTABLISHES COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS FOR OTHER EMPLOYEES IN THE ORGANIZATION, BASED ON MARKET RATE RANGE, EXPERIENCE, EARNINGS HISTORY, AND RESULTS DEMONSTRATED BY THE CANDIDATE. THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PRESENTS EMPLOYEE PROMOTION AND COMPENSATION RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THEIR INPUT. REVIEWS ARE CONDUCTED BY THE BOARD CO-CHAIR, JULIE NEIMAT, AND DOCUMENTED IN THE BOARD'S MEETING MINUTES. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS: THE ORGANIZATION'S GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY, AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST. THESE DOCUMENTS ARE PROVIDED EITHER ELECTRONICALLY OR VIA US MAIL, BASED ON THE PREFERENCE OF THE REQUESTOR. FORM 990, PART XII, LINE 2C OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: OVERSIGHT IS NOW DONE BY A FINANCE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERSIGHT OF THE AUDIT AND SELECTION OF THE INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT. THIS PROCESS HAS CHANGED FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.