Dear TMS Families, Alumni Families, Friends, and Community Leaders,
We are pleased to announce that The Montessori School will welcome new Head of School, Jonathan Alden, to our school community. Our Head of School Search Committee and the Board of Trustees voted unanimously in this selection following our extensive search in collaboration with the firm Carney, Sandoe & Associates. Jon has accepted our offer to be The Montessori School’s next Head of School and will begin his role on August 1, 2022.
Laurie Stulb’s admirable head leadership resulted in incredible growth and gains for The Montessori School over the past fourteen years. Her guidance and wisdom as both a visionary and a pragmatist successfully shepherded us through not only a major site renovation but an unprecedented pandemic. Laurie's dedication to TMS has ensured that our school is strong fiscally and academically. It is with our utmost gratitude and appreciation of Laurie that we welcome Jon and embark on this exciting new chapter at TMS.
Jon comes to us with strong experiences as Head of School. He has worked in both independent and Montessori schools with extensive leadership backgrounds as Head of School, and in admissions, marketing, finance and staff development. Jon holds an Association Montessori Internationale administration certification. Jon is passionate about educational excellence and values the importance of a strong foundation for the developing student. His professional experience and statement of educational philosophy match the mission and vision of TMS cohesively. Jon’s appreciation for all that TMS offers was evident during his thorough visit to our school and campus. His respect for TMS and the Montessori philosophy was evident not only in the time Jon took to observe the classrooms and the students at work, but also by his kind words for the faculty, students and well-appointed classrooms at all levels. Jon is pleased to return to the area where he grew up. He knows this part of Pennsylvania well, having attended Abington Friends School and The George School.
We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who helped make our Head of School search a success. Thank you for your feedback provided through the Carney, Sandoe & Associates survey. We are grateful to the Administrative Transition Team for their effort and commitment to the Head of School search process. Thank you, to Dareus Conover, Marj Horton, Keri Kelly, Amy Robinson, Karen Walsh and Sue Zaharchuk for your dedication to the future of TMS.
Please join us in congratulating Jon and welcoming him to The Montessori School!
Sincerely,
Ngoc Tran, The Montessori School Board Chair
Karen Walsh and Sue Zaharchuk, Chairs of the Head of School Search Committee
