The Discovery School will move to former Winchester Thurston property

The Winchester Thurston North School, which shut down in March of 2020 due to covid restrictions and then closed permanently in 2021, has been purchased by The Discovery School Pittsburgh with plans to move to the site in fall of 2022.

Jessica Handron, founder and director of The Discovery School, closed on the purchase of the Winchester Thurston building and grounds on Oct. 5. The school is located at 4225 Middle Road, Hampton Township.

“We are going to spend the remainder of this school year kind of giving that property some love and attention and doing some minor renovations and getting it ready for the school year in the fall,” Handron said.

The Discovery School is currently located at 614 Dorseyville Road in Fox Chapel. The school has 40 preschool students, but with the expansion, is hoping to not only add students from their long waiting list, but add a full-day kindergarten.

The new campus provides two school buildings and 7 acres of land that can be used by the students and teachers, including wooded trails and a pond.

The Discovery School is built around the Reggio Emelia concept, which is “an approach to learning that fosters a love for exploration-based learning and community-learning by developing experiences,” Handron said.

The larger school will allow the size of enrollment to grow from the current size to around 105 students.

“We have been very lucky. We built the school and have received a wonderful reception from the local communities, both Fox Chapel and Hampton. Expansion means we can reach more families and when the property became available, we thought this was the perfect opportunity,” Handron said.