Head of School

Head of School 

Westtown School is an independent, PK-12, Quaker, day and boarding school located in West Chester, PA, roughly 25 miles west of Philadelphia. Known as the oldest continuously operating co-educational boarding school in the country, Westtown was established in 1799 by members of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Westtown is in search of its next leader and seeks nominations and applications for an innovative, thoughtful, and inspirational educator to serve as its next Head of School effective July 1, 2022. A full position description may be found here.

Westtown is distinctive in its curriculum, boarding program, and extracurricular opportunities. Across three divisions, 694 students enjoy an 8:1 student/faculty ratio. Teachers help students develop the skills and confidence necessary for academic excellence, impactful leadership, and positive change in the world.

The school places strong emphasis on reflection, spirituality, and mindfulness—both in weekly Meeting for Worship and in students’ everyday lives. Academic excellence is a given at Westtown, but also the school’s mission supports a more ambitious goal: through an intentional curriculum and supportive community, Westtown prepares its students to become stewards and leaders of a better world. The school’s bucolic 600-acre campus encourages connection with nature, investigation, and play, and its strong teacher/student advisory program offers community, care, and counsel to students of all ages.

The Head of School will provide purposeful, insightful leadership in the operations and management of the school. They will guide the implementation of Lighting the Way, the school’s energizing strategic vision that includes becoming a need-blind, anti-racist, genuinely inclusive school. The successful candidate will be experienced and dynamic, one who is a teacher at heart, an experienced fundraiser, and an involved, collaborative, and visible leader who can guide the school through joys and challenges alike with sensitivity and integrity.

The search committee for Westtown’s next Head of School is now accepting applications for this opportunity. Requested application materials include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and professional reference list. References will not be called without explicit permission. Although applications will be welcomed until a new Head of School is selected, for best consideration all candidates should submit materials by September 30, 2021 to: WesttownHeadofSchool@storbecksearch.com.

Westtown School is being assisted in this search by Storbeck Search. For additional information, please contact:

Nishant Mehta, Managing Director

Sherry Coleman, Managing Director

Staci Williams Seeley, Managing Associate

Christopher Bernard, Associate

For more information about Westtown School, please visit https://www.westtown.edu.

Guided by the Quaker belief that there is that of God in all persons, Westtown School is a community of learners who value, and are themselves strengthened by, the rich diversity of its members. As a school, we seek to prepare students for living and leading in a diverse and complex world. As a community, we aspire to inclusivity and respect. In accordance with our Quaker heritage and identity, we welcome qualified students, faculty, staff, and trustees of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, religion, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, military or veteran status, family structure including marital or parental status, and socioeconomic status. Westtown School does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of these characteristics in any of its policies, procedures, or practices relating to admission, access to activities or programs, hiring, or other employment-related decisions.