Tune In Radio Viejo : Education: Elementary school students become broadcasters as they go on the air to report the weather on a South County FM station.

MISSION VIEJO —  A few minutes after noon on a recent school day, Viejo Elementary School sixth grader Danielle Fernandez became an on-the-air radio personality.

In a firm and clear voice, Fernandez told thousands tuned to 88.5 FM, Saddleback College public radio, about the day’s weather.

And although Fernandez had never before been on radio, none in the listening audience was surprised when she came on the air. There’s a new weathercaster from Viejo every school day on KSBR 88.5.

“Our students have been doing this for more than two years now,” said Viejo Principal Joel Drew.

The radio link between Viejo and Saddleback College is one of the more unusual educational innovations in Orange County. The program, called Viejo Weather Watch, has won awards from both the California School Boards Foundation and the National School Boards Assn. The awards, both given in 1992, praised Viejo for expanding science teaching through weather reporting for the radio. Radio professionals also have lauded the elementary school.

“The kids at Viejo School learn about weather, and they also learn about radio,” said Dawn Kamber, news director at KSBR. “They even get on-the-air experience that they can use in a job resume later on.”

Viejo Weather Watch is the brainchild of Richard Campbell, former principal of Viejo School. In 1990 Campbell wanted to expand science teaching in all grades of the school and decided that putting a full-fledged weather station on the school grounds at 26782 Via Grande could accomplish that goal. A weather station, he said, would give students hands-on experience in reading instruments that measure wind, rain, humidity and barometric pressure.

“We applied for a grant from the California Education Initiatives Fund, and we got $7,200 from that fund,” said Campbell. “We got another $2,000 from the school’s PTA.”

By 1991, Viejo Elementary had a fenced weather station on its front lawn, and students and teachers alike were learning how to make accurate reports.

“It was sort of a brainstorm of mine to call the college radio station and see if they would use our reports,” said Campbell. “The radio station immediately agreed, and it’s worked out well.”

Campbell is now principal at Arroyo Vista School in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Viejo is a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school. Each grade except kindergarten gets a shot at reading the weather instruments and going on-the-air at KSBR. Every two weeks responsibility for the weather reports rotates to a different class. First-grade students, however, usually don’t get a crack at it until the spring.

“We want to make sure they know how to read fairly well before giving them a radio report,” Drew explained.

Seven sixth-grade students, called weather directors, serve as informal teacher’s aides for Viejo Weather Watch. Each school day, a weather director accompanies the student who will be making the daily radio reading to make sure everything is done correctly.

On a Monday last month, it was 11-year-old Tracy Orwig’s turn to be weather director. She accompanied Fernandez, who was to make Tuesday’s radio report, and Chelsea Smith, 11, who was warming up for Wednesday’s duty.

Under Orwig’s watchful eye, Fernandez and Smith read the rain gauge, finding that overnight there had been .29 inches of rain in that part of Mission Viejo. They then took readings on several other instruments.

Having collected the data, the girls returned to the school to write--on a computer--a complete weather report.

Armed with a printout of their text, the girls went to Principal Drew’s office and Fernandez phoned in the weather report to KSBR.

KSBR news director Kamber each weekday morning tapes the phoned-in weather reports, which are broadcast during the station’s noon news program.

On this particular day, Kamber greeted Fernandez over the phone, then said: “Let’s give it a go.”

Fernandez, looking slightly nervous, began reading her report. “Good afternoon, everybody,” Fernandez said. “The current temperature is 61, and last night’s low was 54.” More data followed.

When she was done, Kamber stopped taping and praised Fernandez’s skill. The sixth grader blushed with pleasure.

Later, Kamber described how very impressed she is with the Viejo Weather Watch and students such as Fernandez.

“Those kids are doing great things,” she said. “And you know what? For them, weather is going to be a very special thing. They’ll never view weather the same again.”