In this issue, Michelle Carstens-Potts, Chair of the Health and Wellness Department; Dr. Danny Carragher, Chair of the Human Development Department; and Lisa Wittner, Director of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), discuss their roles and the programs they implement.
In our next issue, Part II of this series will feature conversations with members of our Student Support Leadership Team, including Dr. Deirdre O’Malley, Director of Counseling Services, and Marc Gladstone, Lead Learning Specialist. Interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Tara Weinstein Book Launches
From Physics to Fiction! Ms. Tara Weinstein, who is D-E’s Science Department Chair, teaches Upper School Physics, and enjoys a range of hobbies from dancing to weaving, can now add published novelist to her list of accomplishments! Ms Weinstein’s debut novel, The Only Way Out Is Through (Blair; 2026), won the independent publisher’s annual Bakwin Literary Award in 2024, and she celebrated its August release with two book launches last month and more to come. To read more about these events and Ms. Weinstein’s literary process, click the link in our bio!
Appreciating the Power of AI: Panel Discussion Sheds Light on Students’ Use and Perspectives
A Look Back at the 2026 HOPE Fashion Show
The 2026 HOPE Fashion Show was a labor of love! The Upper School’s HOPE: Fashion With a Purpose student leaders Lilah Carroll ’27 , Maleah Liao ’27 , Lola Kletsman ’27 , Nina Stevens ’27 , and Crystal Gonzalez-Lawand ’26 organized the show, held annually in April,…
Garden Work Party Highlights
Our D-E Green Upper School student club and the Parents’ Association Garden Project Volunteer Committee co-hosted its final Garden Work Party earlier this season. This was a celebration of the D-E community’s shared efforts in maintaining the Nettie-Louise Coit…
End-of-Year Celebration Recognizes Faculty/Staff Service Milestones & Awardees, and Honors Retirees
The annual Faculty & Staff Celebration, held under the big tent on Leggett Field, closed out the school year in a meaningful and festive way, honoring both personal accomplishments and the work of our teaching and staff community as a whole. In addition to…
LS Last Assembly Celebrates Pride Month & Honors Departing Faculty/Staff
During the final Lower School (LS) Assembly of the school year, we celebrated Pride Month and wished farewell to faculty/staff who are moving on and our 5th graders who are ‘moving up’ to middle school. In the assembly’s Community Connections segment, LS students,…
History Department Spotlight: Taking Lessons of the Past Into the Future
Now that the 2025-2026 school year is in the rearview, it’s a fitting time to reflect on lessons learned and how they can impact the future—and to spotlight D-E’s distinguished History Department. “Students really try to think about historical questions as things that…
Girls Basketball Camp, July 20-23, 2026 & Directed by Coach Aaron Gratch
D-E Athletics invites girl basketball players currently in Grades 4-7 to their Summer Girls Basketball Camp, directed by Coach Aaron Gratch, newly-announced D-E Girls Varsity Basketball Coach & Upper School Athletics Liaison! This sports day camp is July 20-23,…
String Society 2026; Grand Finale Concert on Friday, June 26
This past week D-E enthusiastically welcomed a group of highly exceptional young musicians for String Society 2026. This intensive summer day camp program for “stringers” has been joyfully playing for nearly three decades, and in the words of the committed…
Spring 2026 Live Concert Performances Highlights
This spring D-E’s student musicians of all ages participated in live performances that were a culmination of discipline, training, and a deep-seated passion for music. They represented a journey of artistic growth, proving that in music the process of learning is just…