programming. One teacher was titled the college counselor, nominally
responsible for helping students with the college application process.
However, his real job was correcting all prior programming errors, mak-
ing sure all seniors had the right classes to graduate, and then convincing
senior teachers to give students passing grades when June rolled around.
The two certified guidance counselors primarily worked with students
in crisis. When teachers made referrals, they usually did not receive any
feedback, not even a short note saying that the student referred had been
seen (with a counselor-to-student ratio of 1:1,000, this is understandable).
Teachers walking by the guidance suite sometimes saw no students in the
counselors’ offices and counselors reading newspapers.
The principal, Mr. Brown, thought of counselors as necessary (because
they were required by state regulation) evils. His opinion of counselors
as slackers was reinforced by the attitudes of the counselors and filtered
down to the staff. There was little Mr. Thelen could do as a newly as-
signed assistant principal to change this situation. Ten years later, as
principal, he knew he had to act if students were to receive the support
they needed.
A first priority as principal was to improve guidance services. He did a
budget analysis and found that by eliminating grade advisors, two coun-
selors could be added at little cost. The counselors would now be respon-
sible for all student advising, including programming. This makes sense
since counselors are responsible for the well-being of the entire child,
including academic progress.
This change was made during a fiscal crisis in New York City that re-
duced funding to the schools, leading to teacher layoffs, many offset by a
pension buyout. Mr. Thelen knew it was critical for him to mount a cam-
paign with the cabinet and staff to stress the importance of counselors to
the overall well-being of students and the ambience of the school. There
was no opposition from the Parent Association, which immediately liked
the idea of halving the student-counselor ratio.
Early in September, the principal met with the counselors—the two
returning and the two newly hired—to stress that their continuing as
counselors in the school depended on how well they fulfilled their func-
tion. Three could be eliminated as state regulations required that a school
have just one guidance counselor. Together, they established the follow-
ing guidelines:
146 Chapter 11