HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Tornadoes were Kyra Brown's biggest fear as a little kid -- who was about the same age as the kids she helps at a summer program at Douglas County's Northridge Elementary School in Highlands Ranch.
"As a child, a tornado was my biggest fear, so yesterday when it happened I was like, 'Oh my goodness, this is real!'" Brown said. "But you have 41 little ones and four other staff members that ware relying on you to lead them through it so I pulled my pants up and did what I was trained to do."
The kids, who range from four to 12 years old, all listened to her and the staff, as they were moved to a safer place within the school.
"The older kids ones took initiative and sat with the littler ones," Brown said. "They crushed it, they absolutely crushed it."
Brown said she could hear the rain and objects being blown around as the storm blew past the school, but had no idea what she would see once she got outside.
Parts of the roof blew off the school, and the trees located within school grounds managed to fall down. A Douglas County School District spokesperson said that the district is still assessing the damage inside.
"I don’t like to be prideful, but I do feel very happy that the families were happy and the kids were safe and the staff was safe," Brown said.
Brown is the interim manager for the B.A.S.E. Program at Highlands Ranch, which are before and after school and summer programs for kids whose parents work and need support.
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