Council to Link Area Youths With Adults

An Inter-Community Student Council was formed this summer in the Las Virgenes and Conejo valleys to give students the opportunity to communicate with adults making decisions that affect them.

The idea for the group grew out of the Conejo Valley Future Foundation’s 13th annual Youth Congress in April, where students gathered to talk about issues that are important to them.

“It was a recurring theme each year that the kids are so enamored with meeting with the adults who are giving them an ear, that they wanted it to continue,” said Fran Brough, office manager for the Future Foundation.

This year the students decided to do something about that.

Leading the effort were students Melanie Ho of Oak Park High School, Heidi Limkemann of La Reina High, Alyssa Nelson of Newbury Park High, Jessica Reinhardt of Agoura High and Jeff Sheng of Thousand Oaks High.

Crossing school district, city and county boundaries, the intercommunity council will include two delegates from each of 10 local high schools and six students from private or nontraditional schools.

The adults attending intercommunity council meetings each month, beginning in October, have been selected from city councils, school districts and law enforcement agencies.

Students said there is no shortage of topics that may be discussed at the meetings, including substance abuse, curfews and affordable entertainment for teenagers.

Jessica Reinhardt, 17, said she is looking forward to the interaction and exchange of ideas with adults.

“I don’t know a lot of people who have had really strong role models, besides their parents,” she said. “By having better communication, students can get a better idea of what it’s like in the adult world, and maybe what to do with their lives.”