Lise's Lens: February 6, 2025
Happy snow day! I have much on my mind after a fruitful AISNE Heads of School Retreat last week, including the incredible assembly performance by Opera unMet on Wednesday. I have also been chipping away at Samantha Harvey’s Orbital.
WHAT I’M READING
- I have been reading Orbital, by Samantha Harvey, which I am enjoying, but will probably have to read again someday. It’s such a rich story with so many metaphors and layers, that it takes a high level of focus and concentration to fully understand — two things of which I am admittedly in short supply these days! In any case, the book follows six astronauts working on a space station orbiting our planet. But it isn’t an adventure story about space. Rather, it’s about our relationship as humans to our planet, and the way in which distance can shift perspective in meaningful ways. It’s made me think a lot about each of our circles of influence and how they change as we pan out from the granular day-to-day of school, for example, to the greater happenings on our earth as a whole. For it’s only when we are able to see the whole picture, and understand our place within it, that we are truly able to find meaning.
WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
- One of the challenges of being a head of school is finding the right balance between being on and off campus. When I am away from campus I get huge FOMO (as the kids say, Fear Of Missing Out). At the same time, I am so grateful to be a part of a collaborative industry, in particular, the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE). Last week we had our annual Head of School Retreat as well as our Association Board Meeting. I have the good fortune and honor of being the current Board President as we embark on a year of new leadership with Sara Wilson at the helm, and of work on a strategic plan. During those three days, I was reminded of the power of collective and diverse voices, experiences and needs. The strength of AISNE is in its community, just as CSW’s is. At this retreat of over 120 heads of school from New England, coming from schools of different sizes, and serving different age groups, we worked together on some tough challenges, and shared frustrations and strategies to surmount them. We also left feeling affirmed in our capacity to successfully deliver on the hopes and dreams of the 65,000+ students we currently have enrolled in our schools. So, be assured, parents/guardians, students and all those concerned about our future, that there are those of us out there thinking deeply and strategically about our students.
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
- We were fortunate, once again, to have the brilliant performers from Opera unMet join us for assembly this week. Opera unMet is a Boston community-based opera company run by former CSW music teacher Marshall Hughes. It was founded with the goal of making opera less intimidating and more inclusive. In addition to their regular performances, the company has partnered with organizations like the Universalist Unitarian Urban Ministry in Roxbury. There, they’ve led programs such as "Arias on the Steps" and "The Ties That Bind," bringing opera to neighborhoods and communities that might not always have access to this art form. Their assembly performance, in honor of Black History Month, was incredibly moving, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. Members joining us included Marshall Hughes (director), Sarah Cooper (soprano), Isabel Randall (mezzo soprano), Cliff Blake (actor), Daniel Callahan (actor), and Alan Rias (tenor). Part of the program also included an amazing poem written by Cliff Blake. I invite you to read it, and reread it. It is still resonating and reverberating in my heart and mind.
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
I am wishing a happy Lunar New Year to all those who celebrate! Thank you to everyone who joined us for our on-campus festivities last week!
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CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.