PHOENIX — ABC15 Meteorologist Jorge Torres walked into Biltmore Preparatory Academy with a plan. The Kidcasters presentation was ready in English and Spanish, packed with clouds, thermometers, and tornadoes.
Then a real tornado warning popped up in Flagstaff.
“So you see that polygon? That red polygon... red is tornado,” Torres told the students.
The warning had about 10 minutes left. Torres used every one of them. A storm a couple of hours up I-17 became part of the lesson.
The visit itself started months ago in the school’s front office on 34th Street in Phoenix. That’s where Veronica Saenz-Hernandez, Biltmore Prep’s community education outreach coordinator, came up with the idea.
“I like watching Channel 15, and I like seeing the Kidcasters and the weather forecast,” Saenz-Hernandez said. “I said, Biltmore kids will be awesome for this segment.”
Saenz-Hernandez has spent six years connecting families at the school with what they need. She also has an eye for talent.
At Biltmore Prep, science and math are taught in Spanish. The students delivered their forecasts in both languages, and they did it with confidence.
“I’m very proud of our kids. They communicate well, and they like to practice their English and Spanish,” Saenz-Hernandez said. “They know there’s lots of opportunities out there with having dual language.”
Next came a pop quiz Torres didn’t plan either.
“Who knows what you need to do when there’s a tornado warning?” he asked the class.
One student suggested the bathtub.
“Well, what if you don’t have a bathtub? I don’t think we have one here at school, right?” Torres said.
For the record, here’s what to do during a tornado warning. Get to the lowest floor. Find an interior room. Stay away from windows. That works at home and at school.
Saenz-Hernandez put it simply.
“We do have weather here in Arizona,” she said.
The Flagstaff warning eventually expired. The lesson will stick with these students a lot longer.
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