Rising Star Business Academy Hosts MV's First Town Hall Youth Symposium

Students at Rising Stars Business Academy (RSBA) YouthBuild knew they had voices, so they used them. On Nov. 13, RSBA held its first Youth Town Hall Meeting. The charter school invited Joel Ontiveras, Moreno Valley Chief of Police; Altie Holcomb, representative for Senator Richard Roth; Louise Palomarez, representative for Councilwoman Victoria Baca; Moreno Valley Mayor Tom Owings; LaShe Rodriguez, representative for Assembly Member Jose Medina; C.J. Johnson, President of the MVUSD Board of Education; and Rudy Cuevas, Principal of YouthBuild Charter School of California, to answer questions students had come up with, in weeks prior, when brainstorming the needs of their community. Student questions revolved around a variety of issues such as the unemployment rate, the relationship between youth and police, and the status of education in Moreno Valley, and focused on the steps being taken to improve those issues. Lead teacher Alvaro Brito moderated the town hall meeting, reading out loud from the list of questions, some of which were addressed to specific leaders, and others to the panel in general. Panel members answered each question and shared advice and words of motivation to the students, often telling their own stories of their roads to success. Rising Stars Business Academy (RSBA) is a non-profit organization in Moreno Valley, partnering with YouthBuild Charter School of California - who allows students in the program to receive their accredited high school diploma, serving students from 16-24 years of age who have been labeled "at risk students." “I beg to differ (on) that label,” wrote Director of Student Services Benny Orduno in a press release. “Yes, some of our students are deficient in their high school credits where they attend our accelerated program to receive their high school diplomas. Some students are in the foster care system, on probation, in lower income single family homes, or have reached the age where they cannot attend a traditional high school.” The Youth Town Hall meeting was an example of a “community action project,” a project or event which students come up with every trimester, and which revolves around an essential question, which is different every time, said Brito. This trimester it was: “What are the needs of the community?” Before founding RSBA in 2010, Alicia Berridge had worked with youth for most of her life. She had been a model, actress, dancer and singer before following the path taken by many of her family members and becoming a law enforcement officer. Later on, she became an investigator in the Riverside Public Defender’s office. “I’ve seen both sides,” she said. Afterwards, she became a business entrepreneur and began working with YouthBuild. Throughout her career, she moved several times and raised a daughter, who is now in the U.S. Air Force Academy, mostly on her own. In 2000, Berringe started an etiquette school called Rising Stars Academy in Los Angeles, for children ages 7-17, which focuses on self-esteem. Her husband, Lincoln, serves as a counselor for RSBA. “He’s kind of like the dad of the program, and I’m kind of like the mom,” she said. “I love these kids, and a lot of them just don’t have someone that says, ‘Hey, I love you. It’s OK.’ And at first, kids were like, ‘You love us, what are you talking about?’ Now they’re like, ‘We love you, Mr. Lincoln! We love you, Ms. Alicia!’” Towards the end of the meeting, students were given note cards and pencils to write down additional questions they had for the panel. In addition to the aforementioned issues, students wanted to know how they could be more involved in the community, why many people preferred to live in Riverside over Moreno Valley, why the city of Moreno Valley was perceived to be unsafe, and whether or not a gang-affiliated criminal suspect had higher chances of being convicted. The town hall meeting ran over an hour longer than originally scheduled, but Brito said it was OK, because the students were excited to hear their questions being answered. “I believe it’s really, really important for students to have a voice because it makes learning real for them,” he said. “When they realize that education is not just memorizing facts, it’s not just figuring out how to read a book to answer the questions in the end, turn in an assignment, get the credit, etc. Making learning real to a student is what we’re all about at this school.” Student leader and senior Devin Watkins, 17, described the event as “very educational,” and said that all but one of his questions were answered satisfactorily. He hopes that youth came away knowing “the cops are not your enemy, they’re more your friends,” and said it was important “to get more involved in the community, and not just sit at home watching TV or the news and saying, ‘Oh, we need help here.’ We need to start getting out more and actually getting involved with the community to help make it a better place.”