This past January, DREAM officially opened the doors of the new DREAM Charter School at 20 Bruckner—a 200,000-square foot, 120-year-old former icehouse given new life as a learning institution by renowned architect Sir David Adjaye. In this series, DREAM at 20 Bruckner, we explore several aspects that make the building special, further DREAM’s mission, and embody our belief that place matters—that every child deserves safe, beautiful places to play, learn, and grow.

The DREAM maxims amplify the values that have guided DREAM since 1991 and will carry it into the future—a collection of phrases that outline the core beliefs we have as an organization and that provide the framework for each day at DREAM:

• All Kids Can. This Kid Can.
• DREAM is Family.
• Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.
• Fun is a Serious Value.
• DREAM Big.
• Fail. Persist. Exceed.

DREAM believes so strongly in its maxims that they are an integral part of the PreK-8 entrance of 20 Bruckner, the main area that will receive DREAM Mott Haven Elementary and Middle School students when they officially move in for the 2023-24 school year. Walking past the familiar home plate logo with all six maxims, the most prominent display is part of the main access to the elementary and middle school classrooms—the All Kids Can staircase. A suspended metal structure lit up on both sides, it includes a climbing environmental graphic reminding students that all children can reach their highest aspirations, especially them.

DREAM believes so strongly in its maxims that they are an integral part of the PreK-8 entrance of 20 Bruckner, the main area that will receive DREAM Mott Haven Elementary and Middle School students when they officially move in for the 2023-24 school year.

As students ascend the All Kids Can staircase, they will also climb closer to the opening of one of two lightwells, designed by Sir David Adjaye to bring natural light into 20 Bruckner’s interiors. Because the lightwells run the entire height of the building and up to the roof, students will have a clear view of the sky above them, a subtle note that the sky is the limit for all they can achieve. One of the first things students will see when they enter the building, the All Kids Can staircase will set a tone for all of their days at their new school site.

“20 Bruckner is a physical manifestation of our students’ hopes and dreams for themselves – a place that finally matches up to what our kids deserve and dream,” says DREAM co-CEO Eve Colavito. “It represents a community that comes together to support them in exercising their agency and power in the world.”

To see more inside 20 Bruckner, you can watch recaps of DREAM Charter High School’s first day of school and the official 20 Bruckner ribbon-cutting ceremony. You can also read more about the maxims on the DREAM website. And, don’t forget to check back as we continue to count down to the official move-in for DREAM Mott Haven Elementary and Middle Schools this August. Come DREAM at 20 Bruckner.