At UCDS, from students to faculty, on the playground and in the classroom, failure is welcomed and celebrated as part of the learning process. Why? For many parents and educators, failure is something to be avoided and prevented in order to protect confidence and self-esteem. At UCDS, we believe that the opposite is true. It is the failures, and the lessons learned from failures, that strengthen confidence and self-esteem. When given permission to fail, students and teachers learn to take risks, to try new things and to persevere.