Andy Webster has been Head of The Wardlaw-Hartridge School (coed, PK-12, 475 students) in Edison, New Jersey, for 18 years. Under his leadership, Wardlaw-Hartridge has developed its ethos of community and character, and is recognized for its embrace of diversity, global interconnection, and rigorous inquiry. He has overseen enrollment growth, improved financial stability, and conducted extensive campus facility improvements for athletics, the arts, and academics. 

Prior to his arrival at Wardlaw-Hartridge, Andy served Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn for 14 years, as Upper School Director, Director of Admission and Financial Aid, teacher, coach, and advisor.  He had warmed up for Brooklyn by spending two years serving as History teacher, varsity soccer coach, and dorm staff at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas.

Andy’s undergraduate degree in History is from Brown University and he added a Master’s Degree in History from the University of Virginia. Not surprisingly, in his career he has taught courses as varied as US Social and Cultural History and The Modern Middle East, and as inevitable as American and European History. Beyond the classroom and his own campus, Andy has been broadly active in independent school leadership activities, serving four terms on the board of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools, where he serves as Vice President and chairs the Nominating Committee and has presented workshops on school governance. He has also served as a Trustee of the Pardada Pardadi School for impoverished girls in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Andy has been married to Aurea Hernandez-Webster, also a teacher, since 1992 and they have four sons and a daughter, “all Wardlaw-Hartridge alumni, three of whom are still in college.” In his letter to the Search Committee, he wrote that in his career he has “focused on building student-centered communities of warmth, joy, kindness, and intellectual vitality.” He says, “I want visitors to our school to be struck by the joy, laughter, and care they see, as these express a true sense of inclusion and belonging.”  Beyond family and school, Andy has strong interests in soccer, poetry, and a wide range of music.

Please join in welcoming Andy and Aurea for their campus visit starting on Monday, April 24.