(From time to time, I ask some of the distinguished members of our administrative staff to write a guest column for this space. This week's column was written by Art Mandel, Director of K-12 Guidance.)

As the new director of K-12 Guidance for the Roslyn School District, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work in the Roslyn school community where education is a high priority.

I came to Roslyn by way of Rockville Centre Schools where I spent the last 22 years serving as academic facilitator for guidance, counselor, and special education teacher. My expertise in college counseling comes from traveling throughout the United States visiting over 250 college campuses, meeting with admission officers, financial aid directors, and students. Consequently, I am confident the knowledge I bring about the college application process, the sense of campus life, and the relationships I have forged with admission personnel throughout the country will benefit Roslyn students. Furthermore, as director, I am able to share my expertise with the other counselors in the department as well as the students and parents.

Counselors in the high school are also encouraged to visit colleges. They have visited campuses along the East Coast, including Boston, Washington, and Baltimore. Next year, the counselors plan to visit upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island schools.

High school counselors are presently meeting with juniors and their parents for the Junior Conference to discuss post-high school plans. Prior to this individual meeting, parents and students were asked to bring to the Counseling Center a college questionnaire, a sample Common Application and an extra-curricular profile, a parent questionnaire, and a student questionnaire. At the conference, the counselor will not only discuss the college application process but will make recommendations to the students and parents about which colleges might be of interest based upon the information provided, as well as grade point average and SAT I/SAT II scores.

It is the goal of the counselor to help the student and parent find the college with the right "fit". This is only the first step in the college search process. The Counseling Center and the counselor is a major source of information including college acceptance data from previous senior classes.

The middle school has also undergone some change in the guidance area. With two new counselors and the establishment of teaming throughout all grades, the counselors have become even more involved with the teachers and the students. A pilot group counseling program, operated by the counselors on each grade level, has proven tremendously successful. Having started with only a handful of children, the program has exceeded our expectations and become very popular. Next year, the department is planning to increase the number of groups in order to better meet the diverse needs of the students.

The Roslyn School District Guidance Department has made innovative changes this year to meet the needs of our students by developing new programs and by increasing the communication between the school and the home. I am looking forward to continuing this growth process in the 2001-2002 school year, and welcome parents to contact me at 625-6352 with any questions or concerns they may have.