Teachers often get a lot of the credit for the success of many students, but one person who is equally deserving often is the school counselor.

More information American School Counselor Association 801 North Fairfax St. Suite 310 Alexandria, Va. 22314 (800) 306-4722

"I really liked my high school counselor," says Monica Icone, a school counselor for the senior class at Webster High School, when explaining why she chose to go into the field. "You get to work with people, help them. And there's a lot of variety . . . a lot of chances for involvement."

School counselors help students evaluate their abilities, interests, talents and personalities in order to set and then achieve reasonable goals in both and academics and later in a career.

"We get an overall view of how they're doing aca-demically," Icone says, "and get involved and try to intervene when we think it's necessary." They do this by reaching out to the students directly or by setting up conferences with parents and teachers.

Icone says she and her colleagues help students focus on their long-term goals, be it vocational or college, in their sophomore and junior years. They also provide assistance in the college search process.

"It's very different between elementary, middle school and the high school level," says Icone, who spent seven years as a middle school counselor before moving to Webster High. As students get older more independence is expected. "There is tremendous growth from sophomore to senior year," she adds.

Because students often stay with the same counselor throughout their high school career, Icone is currently working with students who will be entering Webster High next year, to help with the transition from middle school.

In this case, the counselors "do a lot of scheduling, making sure the students take what they need to get on track to graduate." This element is particularly important due to the more stringent requirements for a regents diploma in New York.

Counselors working in elementary schools observe children as they work in the classroom and as they play and make evaluations after conferring with the students' teachers and parents.

Icone says an undergraduate degree in education is useful but not required. Anyone who wants to become a school counselor must complete a master's degree in counseling with 60 credit hours, double that of many graduate programs which mandate 30 credit hours. They must also complete a one-year internship.

A survey conducted by the Educational Research Service indicates the average salary of public school counselors in the 1996-97 school year was $44,100.