Tampa school hires director for new entrepreneurship institute

Carrollwood Day School has named its inaugural director for its Entrepreneurship Institute, a new program connecting students to local businesses through internships, competitions and real-world projects. 

On Thursday, the school announced its chosen educator, Brendan Brennan, to lead the program. Brennan has a background in education and is a researcher and designer with nearly two decades experience. 

“Throughout his career, Brennan has pioneered innovative instructional designs, curriculum development, and professional development programs that merge human-centered learning with cutting-edge technology,” the school says in a statement.

“He has launched innovation labs for students, designed engaging virtual STEM courses, and championed the use of design thinking, AI-supported pedagogical practices and collaborative learning environments to empower students as active agents in their education," the statement says.

A private school in the Tampa suburbs, Carrollwood Day School is home to more than 1,260 preschool to high school students and charges an annual tuition ranging from $12,000 to $30,000 annually. 

The school had attempted to launch entrepreneurial programs before but they were all siloed, “like little islands of great entrepreneurial thinking,” says Tim Walsh, assistant head of school academics. That’s why CDS launched the Entrepreneurship Institute earlier this year, to create a cohesive program for students in grades K-12 to learn entrepreneurial thinking and real world problem solving skills in a hands-on environment. 

“We want to be an incubator here, and we want to have pitch competitions here,” Walsh says. “We want to have kids have their own businesses, and then when they start making money in their own businesses, we want to teach them how to invest that money.”

The new program is competition and project-based, and aims to bring “authentic mentoring” and internships to the students through partnerships with professionals in medicine, technology, business, service, and sustainability fields, the school says. 

As the director of entrepreneurship, Brennan will be responsible for developing the program in a way that aligns with the school’s existing curriculum and International Baccalaureate (IB) program, cultivating relationships with local businesses to create those real world internship experiences for students, and will also teach up to two class sections, the school says. 

Brennan will also be called upon to oversee programs such as the Patriot Pitch business competition and other hands-on projects. 

Previously, Brennan co-founded and directed The Janus Group, an educational curriculum design and professional development firm. He also co–founded and served as the director of innovation for The Moonshot Laboratory, an innovation hub based in Hawaii that fostered student creativity and community problem-solving through a collaborative approach. 

A graduate of Gettysburg College, Brennan is a “serial entrepreneur in the education sector” and previously served on Google’s 12-member Global professional Development Strategy Team, where he helped develop worldwide initiatives to enhance teaching and learning, the school says. 

CDS is one of only three secondary schools in Florida to be both an IB and Cum Laude Society School. In 2020, the school was recognized by the National Consortium for Entrepreneurial Education as an Entrepreneurial School and in September 2021, CDS opened the Center for Innovation, a two-story, 40,600 square foot expansion that includes a student union and entrepreneurial center.