Brad Halm moves up from associate director at Little Star.
Little Star School in Winthrop has promoted Associate Director Brad Halm as the new executive director of the school, replacing Dani Reynaud.
Reynaud, who has been the school’s executive director for the past 10 years, recently announced her retirement effective at the end of the current school year.
Reynaud led the school in a major expansion, adding the Little Star South Collaborative on the TwispWorks campus and a second school facility in Winthrop, and offering an enriching child care program for infants and toddlers. Little Star, founded 40 years ago as a Montessori school, now accommodates 130 children a day, from infants to age 6.
Reynaud and her family — sons Marcel and Rainier and her husband, Ray Sanders, who teaches physical education at Methow Valley Elementary School — are moving abroad for a two-year assignment at an International Baccalaureate school.
“Brad’s experience as the Associate Director of Little Star over the past three-and-a-half years, coupled with his ability to foster connections has set the foundation for a smooth transition for our school,” said Korrie Bourn, Little Star board president, in a press release. “Brad is passionate about our mission and acts as an advocate for staff and families. He has extensive hands-on knowledge that will continue to serve our school well, and as a thoughtful, kind and supportive leader, he is well-suited for this position.
“I am humbled and honored for the opportunity to serve children, families and teachers in this new capacity at Little Star,” Halm said. “My time here as associate director has brought me a lot of joy and inspiration, and I’m excited to continue on the amazing trail that [Little star founder] Rayma [Hayes], Dani and many others have blazed for us.”
According to the Little Star website, Halm “brings a wealth of financial and organizational management skills to Little Star. After co-founding and managing his own urban farming/edible landscaping business (The Seattle Urban Farm Company) for eight years, he moved to the Methow Valley in 2015 with his wife, Erika and their daughter Aurora. … He is also the co-author of two books: ‘Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard,’ and ‘High-Yield Vegetable Gardening.’”
