In 1984, Dr. Laura Hathaway, with vision, with dedication, and with courage, founded The Pegasus School.

Dr. Hathaway’s vision was to create an educational community in which it would be safe for gifted students to be smart; in which students’ strong intellectual challenges would be matched by a thoughtful social and emotional embrace; in which teachers would provide a curriculum of high content and high interest to encourage students to “build wings so bright minds can soar.” The Pegasus School emerged from a collaboration with the University of California, Irvine to develop academically accelerated classes for gifted students, based on the model created by Dr. Julian Stanley at Johns Hopkins University.

 
Dr. Hathaway’s dedication led to expansion of the school from her gifted summer camps to a PK through 8th grade educational program. She hired a core group of outstanding teachers and established standards of high academic expectation with an appreciation for the gifts that each individual brings to the community. In the 1990s, the school expanded to include a wider range of bright and motivated students who clearly benefited from the school’s commitment to building a community where it was safe to be smart. The school purchased its current facility in 1995 and then began work to refurbish classrooms and expand buildings. The Palley Complex which serves fourth and fifth graders was added in 1997 and the Hathaway Activities Center was built in 2000 to provide a home for performance, art, and student athletics.

Dr. Hathaway’s courage led the school through years of explosive growth and challenge. As the school expanded, she centered the community in core principles of gifted education. It was Dr. Hathaway’s conviction that great gifts brought opportunities for great leadership and that it was the obligation of great schools to build this leadership for the future. In 2007, the school’s Vision Committee completed a study of outstanding independent schools across the United States and created a vision statement that led to the Portrait of a Pegasus Graduate- a compelling roadmap for building the next generation of leadership. After an extended battle with cancer, Dr. Hathaway passed away in 2009.

John Zurn was appointed the second head of The Pegasus School in February 2010. Prior to Pegasus, Mr. Zurn served as Head of St. John’s Episcopal School outside of Washington, DC for twenty years. In the fall of 2010, Mr. Zurn introduced Traits for Success to Pegasus, and along with the school’s Board of Trustees initiated the formation of a Strategic Plan Committee to build upon the work of the 2007 Vision Committee and to develop blueprints for leading The Pegasus School into the future. The 2011 Strategic Plan will serve as the foundation for future growth and challenge at Pegasus.