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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Children's Academy For Education

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 620562853
TN · NTEE P33Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Katie C Harbison, Executive Director / CEO ($9,843) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 366 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Katie C Harbison — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

366 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 366 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$149 total compensation of comparable organizations → $363,797 $9,843
$22,40610th
$41,23625th
$53,088Median
$67,49875th
$86,39590th
$9,843This org · 4th
p10$22,406
p25$41,236
p50$53,088
p75$67,498
p90$86,395
$9,843

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to TN cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Wisdomworks CA$490,269 Ceo $63,840 $51,092 2025
Lake Bowen Child Development Center SC$489,660 Director $41,345 $41,034 2024
Cedar County Coordinated Child Care IA$493,998 Director $65,403 $66,372 2025
Bright Eyes Quality Child Care Inc FL$494,858 President, Ceo $96,900 $89,159 2023
Saugerties Early Childhood Learning NY$494,960 President $15,860 $13,634 2024
Trinity Child Development Center TX$495,386 Executive Director $59,500 $58,295 2023
Corridor Christian Early Learning Center IA$495,397 Executive Dir. $57,000 $61,129 2023
Central Child Care Of Wv WV$486,079 Director $44,174 $45,502 2024
Binghampton Community Christian Life Center TN$485,688 Day Care Director $39,452 $39,452 2024
Johnson County Learning Center Inc IN$484,508 Executive Di $52,000 $52,169 2024
Community Childrens Center CT$497,579 Executive Director $20,713 $18,000 2025
Northwest Child Development Centers NC$483,059 Ceo $92,661 $93,776 2023
Children Country & Lives Ccl CA$482,987 Member $15,600 $12,485 2025
First Congregational Preschool Inc CT$503,076 Executive Director $78,090 $67,860 2025
Kid Station At Heritage IA$503,388 Executive Di $71,555 $74,536 2024
Kids Corral Inc IA$477,688 Daycare Director $55,068 $57,363 2024
Longview Child Development Center TX$477,362 Executive Di $56,387 $53,660 2024
Twin Bridge Playschool Inc NY$476,436 President $25,750 $22,136 2024
Mansfield Training School Dist 1199 CT$506,036 Director $68,654 $59,660 2025
El Kinder Blingual Academy Inc TX$475,678 Ass Director $47,970 $45,650 2024
Woods Hole Day Care Cooperative Inc MA$475,050 Registrar $33,352 $27,777 2025
Alpha Day Care Center ( A New Jersey Non Profit Corporation) NJ$506,720 Director $99,100 $84,176 2024
Little Thinkers Inc IN$507,040 Executive Dir. $59,122 $59,314 2024
Carol Matheys Center For Children & MN$507,941 Executive Director $84,466 $79,401 2024
Paradise Place CO$508,038 Secretary $60,000 $54,734 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to TN cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)4th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted98th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Katie C Harbison) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 366 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $9,843 is reasonable (approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.