About
Leadership
Lise's Lens
Lise's Lens: November 13, 2025
This week I have been reflecting on the importance of humility, teamwork, and staying present in the moment.
WHAT I'M READING
Want to raise intelligent kids? Teach them humility — and this powerful phrase.
This piece in the The Boston Globe Magazine by CSW parent Deborah Farmer Kris P’29 really struck a chord with me, because her argument — that humility is essential to deep learning — aligns so well with our progressive, process-over-product teaching philosophy here at CSW. Too often in our culture, and especially in more traditional schools, students are rewarded for knowing the answer, and knowing it quickly. But so much of the magic comes from being able to grapple with uncertainty, explore multiple perspectives, and consider meaningful solutions.
WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT
Teamwork and Collaboration in Action
This fall, I’ve been reminded of the incredible power of teamwork across our community. Our faculty and staff came together with purpose and pride during our AISNE accreditation visit, showcasing what makes CSW exceptional. The volleyball team’s drive to reach the championships and the first round of NEPSAC reflected the same spirit of collaboration and resilience. And let’s not forget the Zora Foundations’s student-led art exhibition: Amplifying Voices: Four Waves of Feminism, which allowed our students to collaborate with students from other area schools. Now, our students involved in the fall theatre production of Galileo are getting ready to show us what it looks like when 70+ creative individuals come together to tell a story. I cannot wait to see the show tonight!
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
Pre-Recorded Webinars
I’ve been quite immersed in recorded professional development opportunities that I couldn’t make when they were originally scheduled. I am so grateful to the folks who record their presentations and share their slides. It often makes my life so much easier. I can watch them anytime, anywhere, and fast forward through what I don’t feel I need. On the flip side, I have just returned from two and a half days of in-person meetings at the 1911 Conference in Princeton, NJ, which was in great part focused on two key ideas: Being mindful about one’s work (lots of ways to do that but basically, be fully present and do one thing at a time), and how to sustain leadership. It was a valuable event, but it did make me question my propensity to watch things on my own time. I wonder if I might be multitasking and pouring too much into my head all at once. I also think there are things you can get from an in-person event that you just can’t get from watching a recording, like fellowship and camaraderie. In any case, it’s all got me thinking about how I want to engage with others, and the importance of being fully present in every moment.
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
I would be remiss if I did not give an extra HUGE shoutout to our girls varsity volleyball players, who WON their first round game in the NEPSAC tournament. My sources tell me that this is maybe only the second time ever (and certainly the only time in recent history) that one of our teams has achieved this, and so I am very very proud of them. I know how hard they have been working. Wish them luck in the SEMI-FINALS on Saturday!
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.