01
Why This Structure Exists
At WSA, we believe that clarity is a form of care. When every member of our team understands the structure around them — who supports their growth, who they can go to, and how decisions get made — they can bring their full attention to the work that matters most: our scholars.
This structure is not about hierarchy for its own sake. It creates the Systematic Accountability that lets us focus on instruction, protects our Human-Centered Community by making expectations visible rather than assumed, and gives our instructional work the precision it needs by putting the right people in the right lanes. A clear structure is not a constraint on people — it is the condition that allows them to thrive.
02
Two Types of Authority
These two types of authority are intentionally separate. A person may direct your work on a given day without being responsible for your employment or professional growth. Understanding this distinction is essential to how WSA operates — and prevents confusion when direction comes from more than one source.
Supervisory Authority
Who is responsible for my employment and growth?
- Job performance evaluations
- Hiring and termination recommendations
- Work schedule and performance expectations
- Improvement plans and formal recognition
- Professional development direction
Your supervisor is the person accountable for your growth and employment status at WSA. This relationship is formal, documented, and stable.
Functional Authority
Who may direct my work on a given day?
- Daily priorities and task direction
- Decisions within that person's operational lane
- Instructional or program-specific guidance
- Decisions that affect work output — not employment status
A functional authority leads through expertise and role — not employment responsibility. Following their direction is expected. Non-compliance escalates to your supervisor.
WSA operates on five organizational tiers. Authority flows downward through supervisory lines and outward through functional lanes. Each tier carries a defined scope — understanding where a tier begins and ends is as important as knowing who is in it.
Executive
Executive Director
Originator and steward of the WSA Academic Model. Supervisory authority over all staff. Standing member of all teams. Supervised by the Board of Directors. All structural decisions and final escalations resolve here.
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Exec Advisement
Directors
Highest-confidence strategic advisors to the Executive Director. Both Directors hold ED designee authority. Neither Director acts unilaterally — when Directors are in disagreement, the ED decides. Finance & HR and Operations & Leadership each carry distinct, non-overlapping functional lanes.
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Core Four
Dean of Academics
The only Dean position in the Core Four. School-wide positional authority for Academic Model fidelity, instructional systems, MTSS, and master schedule. Designated Dean Mentor — first resource for other Deans before escalating to the Executive Director.
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Leadership Team
Deans & Coordinators
Lead through expertise and defined authority within their lanes — Federal Programs, Student Support, Enrollment & SIS. Instructional Coaches operate at this tier for their grade bands. Leadership Team positions carry supervisory authority over the staff assigned to them; they do not hold school-wide structural authority.
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Operational
Instructional & Support Staff
Teachers, Instructional Assistants, EC Staff, Coordinators, and Support Staff. Each position has a defined supervisory line and defined functional authorities. Direction may come from multiple functional sources — see the Role Clarity Grid for specifics by position.
At WSA, every role has a lane. A lane is the defined scope of a position's authority — the decisions a role can make, the staff it can direct, and the functions it owns. Operating within your lane means your direction is credible and actionable. Operating outside it creates confusion and erodes trust.
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Staying in Your Lane
Making decisions and directing work that falls within your defined role. When in your lane, your direction should be followed without requiring approval from above. This is not timidity — it is structural credibility.
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When Directions Conflict
If you receive conflicting direction from two functional authorities, the protocol is clear: flag, don't choose. Notify both parties of the conflict and let the appropriate authority resolve it. You are not expected to adjudicate competing priorities.
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What Lanes Protect
Lanes protect staff from competing demands they can't resolve, protect leaders from overreach that undermines trust, and protect the school from decisions made without the right context. Clarity of lane is a gift — to everyone.
Coaching directives are functional — not disciplinary. When an Instructional Coach directs a teacher or IA on instructional practice, that is a functional authority in action. Non-compliance is not a matter the coach resolves — it escalates to the teacher's supervisor. Coaches do not evaluate, schedule, or make employment decisions.
05
Core Four & Leadership Team
These two groups work together as a unified leadership body. The distinction is not about rank or value — it is about scope of authority and relationship to the WSA Academic Model. Both are essential. Neither functions well without the other.
Core Four
Owners & Stewards of the WSA Model
- Responsible for the design, integrity, and continuous improvement of the WSA Academic Model as a whole
- Ensures the Model is understood, implemented with fidelity, and evolving in response to what scholars need
- Holds school-wide structural authority — not limited to a single department, grade band, or program
- Participates in executive decision-making alongside the Executive Director and Directors
- Provides oversight and alignment across all leadership lanes — not to manage them, but to ensure the Model stays coherent
- The Dean of Academics serves as Dean Mentor — first escalation point for other Deans before the Executive Director
Leadership Team — Essential Expertise
Those Who Lead Through Action & Integrity
- Membership is based on unique contributions, commitment, and alignment with our mission — not supervisory authority
- May include: Core Four, Deans, Coordinators, Instructional Coaches, Model Teachers, Lead Teachers, and others whose contributions warrant a seat at the table
- Brings ground-level knowledge in instructional and academic matters that informs the Core Four's decisions
- Contributions may include: leading a program or grant, facilitating PD, mentoring peers, fostering community, modeling accountability, or supporting critical data analysis
- Every member's voice is essential — WSA believes all members lead through action and integrity, regardless of formal authority
- Membership carries an expectation of reflection: Core Contributions · Collaboration & Culture · Influence Beyond Authority · Alignment with WSA Values · Growth & Development
06
Where We Are & Where We're Going
WSA is a growing school with a clear destination. The structure described in this document reflects both where we have been and where we have always been heading. The intended model is not a correction — it is the full expression of the design we set out to build.
Current State
How We Got Here
The current arrangement reflects the reality of building a school in motion. WSA has navigated multiple facility transitions, developer uncertainties, and moments that called for every hand on deck. In those seasons, people stepped outside their defined lanes not because the structure failed — but because the team did what great teams do: they showed up. The current state is not a gap in the model. It is evidence of a staff that refused to let circumstances determine outcomes for scholars. That commitment deserves to be named and honored.
Intended Model
Where We Were Always Heading
The intended model is the full Academic Model in action — every lane clearly owned, every supervisory line in its permanent place, and every scholar supported by a structure built precisely for them. This was always the destination. WSA is designed to grow to a K–8 school, and the structure here is built to scale with that growth. As we add scholars, grade levels, and staff, the model evolves — not away from its foundation, but deeper into it. The work ahead is not starting over. It is arriving.
What this document does not govern: Individual professional development plans, specific hiring timelines, compensation decisions, and formal HR procedures are governed by separate documents. This document defines structure and authority — not process.
Full Role Clarity Grid — Current & Intended
Click any position to see the complete supervisory authority, functional authority, and policy notes for that role. Toggle between current state and the intended model. Every position at WSA is documented.
↗ Open Interactive Chart
