Hilton Head Prep picks veteran educator from Virginia as next head of school
This summer, Hilton Head Preparatory School is getting a new leader for the first time in eight years.
Paul William Horgan has been selected as the head of school for Hilton Head Prep. He starts July 1, 2022, and is replacing current Head of School Jon Hopman.
Hopman is leaving for the top job at Montverde Academy in Florida, where he previously worked before coming to Hilton Head Prep in 2014.
“I am committed to ensuring Mr. Horgan has everything he needs to transition smoothly into the 2022-2023 school year. Our students are in good hands with Paul, and I am excited to see the great things to come at Hilton Head Prep,” Hopman said in a Friday press release.
Horgan is the current Head of the Upper School for Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia Beach, a title he’s held for 11 years. He’s previously served as a teacher, coach, department chair and director of college counseling.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Villanova University and a master’s in education from the University of Virginia.
Horgan was unanimously selected by the school’s board of trustees from a pool of three finalists following a national search by the Head of School Search Committee and Southern Teachers Agency. Each finalist was brought to the school for interviews focus groups of trustees, parents, staff and students.
“My goal for Hilton Head Prep is to be a school that will provide the most inspiring, empowering and formative educational experience our students will ever have,” Horgan wrote in a Friday message to the Hilton Head Prep community. “Any lesser aspiration would be selling ourselves short.”
Hilton Head Prep is a co-ed day and boarding school with approximately 400 students spanning pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.