The Bolinas-Stinson Union School District has named the director for its new 4-year-old preschool program: Victoria Maier. The Bolinas resident and mother of one had been involved at the Bolinas Children’s Center for the last four years, working as an assistant teacher before becoming the lead teacher of the toddler program last September. “My goal has always been to work more with preschool groups,” said Ms. Maier, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with degrees in political science and German. John Carroll, the district’s superintendent, said the position attracted a strong applicant pool but it was Ms. Maier’s overt positivity that earned her the job. “We’re really enthusiastic about it and she’s super optimistic, with a can-do attitude,” he said. The public program is expected to start next year with 16 students. Ms. Maier said she’s begun envisioning the program’s play-based structure and mapping out the space on the Stinson Beach campus. Since the program’s announcement, some in the community have raised concerns about how the free program would affect the area’s two longstanding preschools—the Bolinas Children’s Center and the Stinson Beach Preschool. The latter, a more than 50-year-old Montessori-based program, is shuttering in June. Laura DiStasi, the director of the Bolinas Children’s Center, has said the new program could change the nature of the education she offers and even threaten her viability. Ms. Maier said there has since been communication between the programs to help ease any competition. “It’s always good to have options for families,” she said. “And in the end, I feel the [new preschool] is a great service in the community, especially when preschool can be expensive for some families.” Before moving to Bolinas, Ms. Maier lived in San Francisco and worked for the human rights organization Global Exchange. She said working with children is a life calling. “After working at the Bolinas Children’s Center, it hit me that this is my passion,” she said. “Helping kids find joy in learning is my creative outlet.”

This story was corrected on May 26.