Board of Directors

The first step in what became Tulsa Classical Academy was taken in February 2020 when Nathan Phelps, Julie James, and Ryan Mullins visited Founders Classical Academy in Bentonville, Arkansas. A week later, this initial group hosted a meeting and invited several other people, including Michael Bates, to attend. A few months later, Steve Robinett joined the effort and we officially formed Classically Formed Inc. Thus, the initial board members were Michael Bates, Julie James, Ryan Mullins, Nathan Phelps, and Steve Robinett. This group of individuals then set to work on the Hillsdale K-12 Application, the charter application, and eventually, the Charter School Program Grant (CSP) application. Jonathan Wielenga, Molly Mooberry, and Andrea Hogue joined the effort in 2021.

 

The board grew through personal connections and the main criteria were a dedication to the mission of establishing a classical charter school and a willingness to work for free. Out of our initial proposals for schools in Tulsa and Claremore, Hillsdale College accepted the Tulsa proposal, but deferred Claremore, leading ultimately to the departure on good terms of our two Claremore-based board members: Mr. Mullins was hired to lead a classical school in Texas and resigned his seat, and Mr. Robinett left a few months later. They both played an incredibly important role in the formative stages of starting the school. Meanwhile, Michael Bates, Andrea Hogue, Julie James, Molly Mooberry, Nathan Phelps, and Jon Wielenga pressed forward into 2022. Adam Jones joined the board in December 2022. This group of individuals became the founding board.

 

While public school district boards are elected by the general public to oversee existing schools, Tulsa Classical Academy’s board consists of the men and women who joined forces to bring TCA into existence and have a demonstrated commitment to its success. Board members are appointed to three-year terms and can be reappointed to as many as three terms (though serving a third term requires a special exception). Nathan, Julie, and Michael started their second three-year term last July. Andrea, Molly, and Jon will complete their first three-year term this June. We do not plan to add additional board seats at this time as seven seems like the right size and balance. Should a vacancy occur, the remaining board members would choose a replacement. Board members are required to complete state board training as well as Hillsdale Board Development (which requires they travel to Michigan on their own time and dime). Our board members have dedicated thousands of volunteer hours, thousands of dollars, and hundreds of sleepless nights to the school over the last three and a half years. We are tremendously blessed by these individuals as they have put their heart and soul into this effort.

 

The board uses the Policy Governance Model (often called the Carver Model). This model of governance ensures a clear delineation of duties between the board (who governs the school) and the staff (who operates the school). The board does not evaluate, hire, or terminate anyone other than the school leader. The board sets the mission and vision, defines broad limits on acceptable means to those ends, and then holds the school leader accountable for implementing that mission and vision within the constraints given. The board governs through policy and that policy is organized into a Board Policy Manual.