Leadership Spotlight: Meet Ms. Reynolds, Head of School
August 29, 2025
BASIS Independent McLean has been in full swing since mid-August. The school has begun its 10th year, the classrooms are filled with eager students, and Ms. Reynolds, our Director of Academic Programs since 2017 and Associate Head of School during the 2024-25 school year, has stepped up to be our new Head of School. Ms. Reynolds brings with her over twenty years of experience in education. She is also a proud BASIS Independent McLean parent, with two Red-Tailed Hawks in PreK-1 and Kindergarten. We were excited to ask her a few questions to help families get to know her better.
Personal Connection to the School
What first drew you to BIM, and what excites you most about our community?
I first started working in BASIS Curriculum Schools in 2012, as an Upper School math teacher. As a teacher, I was drawn to the high expectations and the level of autonomy in the classroom that teachers have. When I was invited to join BIM, I was most excited to be a part of such a diverse community of learners. To be able to watch students grow from the Early Years all the way through graduation is such a rewarding experience as an educator.
“She was just a very good math teacher for my 8th-grade Algebra 2 class. She was great at getting the whole class involved in activities. For her child’s gender reveal, she designed three functions where the correct answers were ‘B,’ ‘O,’ and ‘Y,’ respectively, when graphed on planes. ”—Ethan S. ’26, in his eighth year at BIM.
In addition to your administrative role, you are also a parent at our school. What difference does that second perspective bring to your current role?
Having my own kids in our school, in the Early Learning Program, has been such a huge perk for me! It is, of course, incredible that they get to benefit from our excellent program, and for me, professionally, I’ve benefited from the opportunity to see things through the parent lens. It’s helped me to both appreciate and understand the Early Learning Program and how the developmental stages overlay and align with our curriculum. At the same time, there are some things I’ve identified through this lens that we can improve upon, so I like bringing those ideas to the table as well.
“Ms. Reynolds is able to see the small pieces within the big picture. She has an ultimate goal in mind and makes sure that everyone has a role to get there. She is willing to hear new ideas and strengthen the old, and she is always asking, ‘Is it good for the kids?’”—Ms. Orth, Director of Student Affairs, Lower School
Role & Leadership Style
How would you describe your role as the HOS? How do you see yourself supporting our teachers and families?
I don’t see my role as being the expert on everything, but to ensure all our experts are in place so we can capitalize on all of the individual strengths of our team. Our faculty is amazingly talented, and I love getting to know each of them and their individual strengths and needs so we can set them up to be the best they can be. In the same way, I really enjoy getting to know our students and their families and seeing how everyone in our community fits together. Putting organizational structures and systems in place to improve the way we do things has always been one of my strengths, and I hope to continue to do that on a larger scale.
“It may not be apparent from the outside, but Ms. Reynolds’ fingerprints are all over this school. She has played a huge role in developing our curriculum and establishing systems to support our teachers and students. She’s also had a big impact on me and my own teaching practice!”—Dr. Hight, Student Advancement Manager
You will be working with Mr. Wright, our former Director of Upper School and now our new Associate Head of School. Could you share what role he will play in collaborating with you to support our students and families?
Mr. Wright and I work very closely to ensure that our faculty and academic leadership are supported. He brings many years of Upper School teaching and leadership experience to our team, and I especially appreciate his strength in focusing on growing the BIM community. We have very complementary strengths and also a shared vision for how we see BIM moving forward.
“Ms. Reynolds is incredibly passionate about our mission and possesses a deep knowledge of our school. She leads in a collaborative and supportive fashion, and will greatly benefit our community in the years to come.”—Mr. Wright, Associate Head of School
Vision & Impact
As the new Head of School, what do you foresee changing in the next five years?
Going into our 10th year, we already have such a solid foundation and a successful program to build on. Over the next five years, there are some things that we’d like to refine and improve upon, but there’s nothing that we need to completely overhaul or start from scratch. We’ve grown, improved, and strengthened our program and community tenfold over the last 9 years, so in year 10 and beyond, we have the momentum and groundwork to make incremental improvements on those successes.
When you think about the kind of graduates we want to send out into the world, what qualities do you hope they’ll carry with them?
I hope that our graduates will carry with them our EPIC values—Empathy, Perseverance, Integrity, and Curiosity—into the world. We look to grow these skills alongside the academic skills, with the intention of sending students out into the world with not just knowledge but with purpose in how to use that knowledge.
Looking Ahead to Future Students
You also interview prospective students. What qualities do you look for in future Red-Tailed Hawks?
I really try to look for evidence of all our EPIC values to determine if a student is going to thrive here. We want students and their families who join us to share our values of Empathy, Perseverance, Integrity, and Curiosity. Kids are naturally curious, and we’re looking for students who also demonstrate a desire to know and do more, as well as the grit to navigate challenges as they learn and grow.
There’s a Finnish word, “sisu”, which translates roughly to grit or tenacity of purpose, that I learned from a previous Head of School and which has always resonated with me in the way it fits our students.
Thank you, Ms. Reynolds (and everyone, for your comments)! As the new school year begins, we look forward to working alongside you to support our students and families in reaching even greater success!
“Did you know that our faculty subbing system instruction is a song, and it was written and sung by Ms. Reynolds?” —Ms. Glanzer, Performing Arts Teacher
BASIS Independent McLean is a PreK–Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings. Considering joining the Bears community? To join our interest list for the next school year and receive admissions updates and more, please click here.
