New leader for Westfield Friends School

Jon R. Hall, assistant head of school and middle school head at the Montgomery School in Chester Springs, has been tapped to lead Westfield Friends School in Cinnaminson.

Hall will become Westfield Friends head of school effective July 1, but will begin participating in the transition immediately.

"It is our sincere pleasure to announce that our community has come together with great unity to select Jon Hall to be the next head of Westfield Friends School," said Peter Taylor, clerk of the Westfield Friends school board.

Hall replaces interim head of school Peter Pearson, who has served for the last three years, following the retirement of longtime school head Bill Probsting in June 2013.

"The board expresses its gratitude to Peter for the wisdom, love and caring he has demonstrated in his years of service to Westfield," said Taylor.

Calling Hall "a clear community choice," Taylor cited his commitment to Quaker values and educational excellence.

Hall, 44, grew up in Vermont and spent 10 years at Girard College, where he served as associate division director of middle and upper schools and then as head of upper school.

Although not a Quaker, during his years in Vermont and at Girard, Hall worked closely with several Quakers, who introduced him to Friends values and practices.

"I love the fact that Friends schools value so many of the things I believe are crucial to an education: independent thought and capacity for change, basic human and civil rights, service, nonviolent conflict resolution, continual self-reflection and growth, and the belief that every student and person is innately good," Hall said.

Hall lives in Merion with his wife, Jane, a lawyer who is manager of immigration and visa services at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and their 3-year-old son, Tref.

Founded in 1788, Westfield Friends has about 140 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade.

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