What Message Are We Sending?

Why place matters

Raymie Fernandez, COO, DREAM Charter School, Guest Writer 

The Summer I Took My Regents

I remember the summer I took my Regents exam. The classrooms had no air conditioning and were hot and airless. The walls felt as though they were closing in on us.

The bathrooms weren't working, so we crossed the street to a Popeyes to use the restroom, which often meant we missed some of class.

The running joke among my peers was: Is this a school or a prison?

For me, it wasn't really funny. I was a teenager in Harlem trying to pass a test that would help determine my future, and conditions like these were a regular part of school life. I carried the feeling that the world beyond our neighborhood wasn't especially concerned with whether we had what we needed to succeed.

But here I am today: the Chief Operating Officer at DREAM Charter School in the same neighborhood where I grew up.

I'm responsible for over 400,000 square feet of real estate and the conditions in which more than 2,000 students play, learn, and grow every day.

Yet the memory of the summer I took my Regents is never far from my mind.

Because managing school facilities is about more than just buildings. It is about the message we send about what our children, our educators, and our community deserve.

Why I Joined PSwrx's Developer in Residence Program

That experience is one of the reasons I joined PSwrx's Developer in Residence (DiR) program. I am always looking to become a stronger facilities leader.

Facilities management is not separate from student outcomes; it creates the conditions that make those outcomes possible.

I'd long admired Akilah Johnson and considered her the standard in the field. When I heard she was partnering with Diane Flynn, I didn't hesitate.

What I've experienced is less a training program and more a shift in perspective.

Before DiR, I often found myself responding to issues as they emerged. Today, I approach facilities with greater intentionality and strategy. I'm looking at systems, contracts, budgets, and long-term performance rather than simply solving the next problem.

Recently, I took a closer look at budget data and compared service frequency against contracted work. In the process, I uncovered vendor inefficiencies I might not have caught before. The resources we recovered can now be redirected where they belong: to students.

What Message Are We Sending?

It's about the conditions in which students learn and the message those conditions send.

A school communicates something through every classroom, hallway, restroom, and shared space. It tells students whether they matter. Whether their education is worth investing in. Whether the adults around them believe in their potential.

I know what it feels like to learn in an environment that sends the opposite message.

That's why I think about that summer every time I walk into one of our schools.

My job is to make sure our students don't have to overcome their environment in order to learn, but are supported by it every single day.