The Year of the Risk-Taker at Carrollwood Day School
Tampa Bay Business Journal
October 13, 2025
Discover our latest Tampa Bay Business Journal article celebrating the “Year of the Risk-Taker,” and see how students are stepping boldly beyond their comfort zones, embracing challenges, and turning curiosity into growth and impact.
At Carrollwood Day School, we believe the most powerful learning happens at the edge of comfort, where curiosity meets courage and students are willing to take a leap. This year, we are celebrating “The Year of the Risk-Taker,” a theme that captures the spirit of our school and reflects our unwavering commitment to embracing the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile traits in everything that we do. It’s a reminder that the future belongs to those who dare, to the children who step forward, speak up, and try again even when success isn’t guaranteed. At CDS, risk-taking is not just encouraged, it’s embedded in our culture, shaping confident, resilient leaders who are prepared to better the world.
Risk-taking in the IB framework is not about recklessness. It is about courage.
It is about speaking up when it would be easier to stay quiet, asking the harder questions, auditioning for a part you might not get, or tackling a subject that doesn’t come easily. It is about pursuing opportunity. At CDS, we create the kind of environment where students are supported through these moments and where risk isn’t something to fear, but a stepping stone toward growth.
You can see this spirit on our campus every day. In the Lower School, it’s a second grader trying out a new strategy in math and proudly explaining her reasoning at the board. It’s the group of fifth graders who pitched their entrepreneurship project to classmates and partnered with community leaders to bring their ideas to life, creating real solutions that benefit the community. These moments may seem small, but they set the foundation for a lifetime of confidence and resilience.
By Middle School, risk-taking takes on a new dimension. Students begin to test ideas, push intellectual boundaries, and embrace challenges while committing to doing so with integrity and good character. They join clubs and honor societies, attend and compete at conferences, and step into academic, leadership, and artistic opportunities that stretch them beyond their comfort zones. That willingness to experiment, to fail, and to try again is at the heart of a CDS education, shaping students into thoughtful, resilient, and capable young leaders.
In the Upper School, risk-taking takes on even larger meaning. While navigating complex IB coursework, students are creating meaningful change in the real world by becoming entrepreneurs, advocates, and innovators. They have led school-wide environmental initiatives, launched impactful service projects, delivered TEDx talks, and competed at the highest levels of athletics, all because they were empowered to take bold chances and step into opportunities that challenge them to grow.
Faculty and Staff lead by example, too. This year, we launched the CDS Entrepreneurship Institute, an academic center designed to cultivate principled, entrepreneurial thinkers. Our teachers and mentors are guiding students through pitch competitions, incubators, and internships, allowing spaces where innovation thrives precisely because failure is part of the process. Instead of teaching students to avoid setbacks, we’re equipping them to use those setbacks as fuel for growth.
Parents sometimes pause when they hear their child has received a Risk-Taker award at morning opening. The pride is undeniable, but it comes with a flicker of worry. After all, risk carries uncertainty. Yet at CDS, risk is framed in a way that empowers. As psychologist Wendy Mogel reminds us, “Real protection means teaching children to manage risks on their own, not shielding them from every hazard.” At CDS, that’s exactly what we do: create an environment where risks are taken with intention, guided by our mission and values, and supported by teachers who know each child deeply.
At Carrollwood Day School, we don’t just tell students to be brave, we give them the tools, opportunities, and encouragement to step forward boldly, even when the outcome isn’t certain.
This approach shapes not just confident students, but principled leaders. It’s why our alumni go on to succeed in college, in careers, and in life. They know how to stand up, try, adapt, and grow. While this is the year of the risk-taker, every year at CDS is about helping students embrace the courage to begin.
We know that when children learn that taking a chance is worth it, that their voices matter, their ideas can spark change, and their setbacks can be springboards, they don’t just prepare for the next test or the next grade. They prepare to better the world.
And that’s why families choose Carrollwood Day School.
Start your Carrollwood Day School Journey Today!
An IB World School, Carrollwood Day School is known for excellence in academics with an emphasis on character development enriched by a wealth of arts, sports, and extracurricular programming. Students flourish in a rich continuum of learning that begins in preschool and will last a lifetime. CDS' signature STEEM program combines science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and entrepreneurship education.
"Education with Character" is the foundation of the culture at CDS. Faculty, staff, coaches, and parents partner to create an inclusive school community where students feel safe, supported, and connected.
You can read the Tampa Bay Business Journal article HERE.