StarBulletin.com

Helping kids get back on the right path


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POSTED: Monday, October 13, 2008

Who: Vaito'i “;To'i”; Tuala

Title: Truancy-prevention case manager

Job: Counsels - and sometimes helps track down - students who skip school

  Vaito'i “;To'i”; Tuala has a bachelor's degree in communication, which has turned out to helpful in her job as a counselor of truants from Kalakaua Middle School in Kalihi.

As a truancy-prevention case manager with the neighboring Susannah Wesley Community Center, which operates under contract to the state Office of Youth Services, Tuala talks with students who have been caught skipping from the school. In some cases, she helps track down the missing students herself.

In private sessions with the wayward seventh- or eighth-graders, Tuala tries to help them see the value of regular attendance, and helps them catch up in any studies that they may have missed.

Tuala herself is a graduate of Iolani School. She then moved to Pullman, Wash., to attend Washington State University, where she earned her communication degree.

She said last week that she enjoyed her experience on the mainland, and she still goes back there “;every time I get a chance”; to go visit friends and some family,

Tuala said that when she's not working with students at the center in Kalihi, she hangs out at home.

“;I surf the Internet and try to clean my house,”; she joked.

Tuala, 24, is single and lives in Aiea.