Although Fernandez never sent the letter, she said it was cathartic to write. With unsettling clarity, she stills remembers how her kindergarten teacher made her feel anxious, alone, and insecure.

“She was harsh and mean. She made fun of me a lot,” said Fernandez, 38, the daughter of immigrants from Colombia. “I was in a dark place at that time. I didn’t know I was being prepared for something bigger; something greater.”

Indeed, her painful year in kindergarten is precisely what propelled Fernandez to become a kindergarten teacher herself. Ms. Smith’s lack of compassion, empathy, and kindness is what motivates Fernandez to be an educator who possesses all those qualities and more. She strives to leave an indelible impression on her students–but one that is purely positive.

So far, Fernandez is succeeding in her mission: She was recently nominated for the Honored National Teaching Award. When she was named a recipient, she said, she was moved to tears.

“This is a big, monumental moment for me,” said Fernandez, noting that it felt especially meaningful, given her own experience in kindergarten. “I’m so excited…I’m extremely proud of myself.”

Fernandez has been teaching for 16 years and has never looked back.

“Starting from that moment in kindergarten, I always felt a calling to be a teacher,” she said. “I fell in love with it.”

What sets her apart as an educator, she believes, is her warmth and her passion–two qualities even her 5-year-old students have picked up on. 

Aidan Castellanos is one such student. Last year, he dreaded going to school. He struggled to make strides academically, and he didn’t enjoy being in the classroom.

This year, though, with Fernandez as his kindergarten teacher, school might just be Aidan’s favorite place.

“She is a nice teacher and a kind teacher,” Aidan said.

In only two months of being in Fernandez’s kindergarten class, Lianet Sarduy said her son’s demeanor is dramatically different, and his appetite for learning has grown markedly.

“Aidan’s overall attitude about school completely shifted…everything changed,” said Sarduy, who nominated Fernandez for the Honored National Teaching Award. “It’s a beautiful thing to see.”

Last year, Aidan often felt discouraged and frustrated at school. His Pre-K teacher’s approach to teaching didn’t resonate with him.

“His teacher didn’t create a space where he felt comfortable to fail. It was almost like he was terrified of making mistakes,” Sarduy said.

In Fernandez’s class, meanwhile, mistakes are not frowned upon; rather, they are simply seen as an opportunity to learn and grow.

“The biggest shift is that he is genuinely okay with messing up and trying again,” Sarduy said of her son. “He feels like he is in a safe space.”

Making her students feel safe, Fernandez said, is her primary goal. She fosters a feeling of acceptance in her classroom–which gives her students the strength and the drive to keep trying when things are hard. As a direct result, Sarduy said, her son’s academic performance has soared in only a matter of weeks.

“His writing has gotten so much better; his penmanship has gotten so much better; his ability to recognize letters and words has gotten so much better,” Sarduy said. “It’s a lot of little things that have accumulated…the little things go a long way.”

But beyond academic performance, Sarduy said, she has also noticed her son’s emotional intelligence has improved considerably, too. He now understands his own feelings–and the feelings of others–on a more nuanced level.

“Mrs. Fernandez is showing them that the way that you act, the way that you behave and the way you speak is directly correlated with your level of success,” Sarduy said. “My son already has a giant heart, but he’s learned how to channel his emotions better. I think emotional intelligence is critical to learn.”

Fernandez agrees, which is why she structures her teaching to focus first and foremost on building character and confidence in her students.

“I’m very big on teaching self, and then academics,” she said.

Fernandez believes encouraging her students to know themselves on a deeper level is of equal importance to learning how to read and count. In her classroom, curriculum comes second to self-discovery and self-expression.

“If you’re in the right headspace and you’re grounded, the academics just pour in easier,” she said. “We talk about our hearts a lot and how to make our hearts feel calm, peaceful and accepted.”

“I want them to be who they are and who they’re meant to be,” she added.

Fernandez’s classroom theme is “little sunshines,” as she is always trying to exude warmth and light into her students’ lives.

“We’re all about spreading sunshine to each other. I tell them to continue to pour out your own sunshine, and eventually it’s going to come right back to you,” she said. “It’s contagious.”

As a volunteer class parent, Sarduy often has the opportunity to watch Fernandez in action. She is always left in awe.

“It’s such a good environment, and you see that they have fun,” Sarduy said. “She’s created such comradery in the classroom where they all cheer for each other.”

Over the past 16 years, Fernandez has taught everything from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade. Although she has enjoyed teaching every grade, she said, given her own experience in kindergarten–and the way in which it inspired her career–Fernandez feels a special connection with her kindergarten students.

“Kindergarten is just more impactful,” she said. “In kindergarten, you have time to build a foundation with them, so when they get older, they already have this strong foundation to make them successful.”

At Pinecrest Cove Preparatory Academy, the majority of students are Hispanic or Latino, and many speak Spanish as their first language.

“I see a little bit of me in all of them,” Fernandez said, noting that she does everything in her power to make her ESL students feel safe, smart, and understood–the inverse of her own experience as a Spanish-speaking kindergartner. “They just feel this comfort when they come into my class.”

In addition to making her students feel welcome, Fernandez also makes a fervent effort to build bonds with parents–many of whom also struggle to communicate in English, just like her own parents did. Fernandez often serves as a translator, helping parents better understand the school system so they can be as supportive in their child’s educational endeavors as possible.

“I’m very big on parent involvement,” said Fernandez. “I like to get to know my families.”

“She not only teaches our kids,” echoed Sarduy, “but she teaches parents how to maneuver certain situations.”

Fernandez–who spearheads the school’s dance team–spends much of her spare time interacting with students outside the classroom. She attends cheerleading events, dance recitals, soccer games and graduation ceremonies for both her current and former students. Her efforts do not go unnoticed.

“She goes above and beyond,” Sarduy said. “You can just tell when somebody loves what they do.”

Fernandez said the most rewarding part of her job is knowing she’s making a positive impact on the lives of little people. The kindergartner within her, she said, is beaming with pride.

“It feels full circle…You never forget where you come from,” she said. “I strive to be the person for these children that I wanted for myself.”

Evidently, she has achieved her goal.

“I love you, Mrs. Fernandez,” Aidan said.

*Name of Diana Fernandez’s kindergarten teacher changed for privacy reasons.