MARYVALE, AZ — Maryvale is one of the most underserved communities in the Phoenix metro area. Generations of families there have worked hard and asked for little. What they have not always had is opportunity. Justine Spitalny STEAM School is trying to change that, one student at a time.
This week, 25 Spitalny Tigers did something most kids never get to do: they delivered the weather forecast on ABC15.
The school's mission centers on STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. One morning, that mission came to life in front of a camera.
Some students were eager. Some were anxious. Each forecast was a first. Each student stepped into something new.
Their teachers had been watching from the back of the room the whole time.
"I think they see it as a way out," said Dr. Monica Johnson, a resource teacher at Spitalny. "You look at neighborhoods such as Maryvale, and they already have a stigma about them. So if they're saying, 'Hey, we can be on the news,' that's boosting their confidence and giving them the opportunity to say, 'This really can happen for me.'"
Behavior specialist Jacqueline Marchetti watched the transformation happen in real time.
"I feel like a lot of our students who were waiting for their turn were really nervous about what they were going to do and say," Marchetti said. "And once they were back in their seat, you could kind of see their body language and their facial expressions change. They were proud of themselves, which they should be."
Maryvale's Spitalny Tigers are now part of the Kidcasters community, whose forecasts have already reached hundreds of thousands of people across the Valley.
