About
Leadership
Lise's Lens
Lise's Lens: September 18, 2025
This week I am reading Absolution by Alice McDermott, thinking about Fall Fest and our incredible community mosaic project, and watching the documentary, The Quilters.
WHAT I'M READING
Absolution by Alice McDermott. Lately I have been on a spree of reading narratives — fiction and non-fiction — that share the voices and perspectives of women in contexts in which they have historically been silenced, specifically the Vietnam War. Right now I am starting Absolution by Alice McDermott. Another example was Kristin Hannah’s The Women, which I’ve discussed here before. Another is Women at War: The Story of Fifty Military Nurses Who Served in Vietnam by Elizabeth Norman. This book collects the firsthand accounts of fifty nurses who served in Vietnam, offering a direct look at their experiences. The Wives, a memoir by Simone Gorrindo, that offers insight on the lives of wives on military bases was another good read.
WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT
Fall Fest — and the Community MosaicAs you can imagine, my mind has very much been on Fall Fest and everything we have planned for families here on campus these next two days. But there is one Fall Fest activity that stands out as particularly special, and that is the Mosaic making activity. In case you missed it, CSW is in the midst of celebrating 50 Years of Michael H. Feldman ’67 Social Justice Day. This mosaic, to be constructed by community members in partnership with artist Joshua Winer (Michael Feldman’s cousin) will recognize and celebrate the incredible social justice programming that has taken place over the years. This will be a popular activity, so we’ve asked folks to sign up in advance. We are looking forward to having so many of you contribute! Many thanks to Tom Evans, Dee Tran, Lisa Palmero, and Todd Bartel for helping us make this happen!
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
The Quilters.
I watched a short but impactful documentary on Netflix called The Quilters. It takes place in a maximum security prison in Missouri. Did you know that in our 50 years of Social Justice Day programming, the topic of prisons is the one that has been chosen the most? The positive side is that our students remain concerned about our penal system and the rights of prisoners and want to be part of systemic and societal changes on this issue. Of course, the tragedy is we still are talking about this.
If this is a subject of interest or curiosity to you, I recommend Brian Stevenson’s Just Mercy. And if you ever head south, don’t miss his headquarters (includes monuments, art museum, etc) for the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, AL. I visited in person with my colleague Tom Evans two years ago and it was life-changing for both of us.WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
Yesterday, in honor of Spanish Heritage Month, we were treated to an incredible performance from Rumarroco, a musical ensemble that combines Latin rhythms with baroque music. It was phenomenal! Here is one of the performers playing the Peruvian cajon!
Photo by Avalon Jellinek '28
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.