Commitment to excellence. (From The Editor).

Being named editor of Professional School Counseling is a humbling and challenging responsibility. It is humbling because of the huge boots I need to fill; the boots of all previous editors of our professional school counseling journal. Names such as Ken Hughey, Chris Sink, and Stan Baker who have been instrumental in forging a quality publication for all school counselors. Challenging because the new millennium has brought issues to the school counseling forefront that we need to address. We are now faced with the challenges of violence, both in the family and at school; school success being defined as group student achievement rather than appropriately defined individualized achievement standards; and diversity, which reaches beyond cultural, ethnic, and gender definitions to encompass the redefinition of "family" other than the traditional, nuclear family definition. The list of challenges goes on.

For those of you who know me, you are aware of my professional commitment to school counseling and my personal commitment to excellence. I have seen many sides of school counseling: disadvantaged schools as well as affluent schools; public schools as well as independent schools; school counseling stateside in Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia as well as school counseling outside of the United States with schools in The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. As a counselor educator, I have set high standards for the education of school counselors; although students may find my expectations extremely demanding, I am confident that their level of education has been second to none and has been appreciated by former students who have joined the ranks of professional school counselors.

Speaking of the ranks of professional school counselors: I am taking this opportunity in writing my first editor's note to encourage practicing school counselors to write about their programs and practices that are addressing the current and future challenges in our profession. If you are a reluctant author (e.g., "what is APA style?"), find a junior faculty member in counselor education in your area or state and co-author your article. Most junior faculty members are hungry to publish; promotion and tenure requirements are great motivators. The counselor educator can offer assistance with the writing style, and you can offer insight into programs and practices that work. I see this as a win-win situation.

As to the publication process, it is a demanding and drawn out process. Authors are responsible for following the guidelines (i.e., Author Guidelines found inside the back cover of the journal) for submission of original manuscripts on school counseling research, practice, theory, and contemporary issues in the field. Editorial board members are responsible for providing "blind" reviews (i.e., not knowing the authors' names) of the manuscripts submitted. We have an excellent Editorial Board comprised of school counseling professionals, and I rely on their critiques and recommendations in making decisions regarding the merits of each manuscript. As editor, I am responsible for the final selection of manuscripts for each journal issue. In making those selections, I take into consideration the editorial board members' reviews, merits of the manuscript in comparison to others, the space available in the journal, the needs and interests of our readers, and the contributions that the manuscript can make to the scholarship of professional school counseling. It is a demanding and drawn out process, but a process that provides us with a quality journal.

All of this not to discourage you as an author but to encourage you to strive for excellence in our profession and our journal, Professional School Counseling. I suggest that after you have written a manuscript that you ask a professional school counselor to read and critique what you have written (i.e., the content). Take the time to revise and update the content of your manuscript based on the comments made by this "outside" reviewer.

My goal as editor is to set sail toward new horizons for professional school counseling. To accomplish this goal, my objectives include maintaining the excellence in our journal reflecting the current and future direction for school counseling by publishing articles related to best practices both in the field as well as in educating future school counselors, and encouraging new authors to publish in our journal.

So, in closing my first editor's note, I want to recognize and thank Dr. Ken Hughey for his assistance in transitioning the duties as editor to me. He has been a wealth of information and valuable help with his sage advice about the responsibilities and challenges of editing; he has earned a well-deserved rest. I also want to recognize and thank the members of the editorial board; without their volunteer services, we would not enjoy a quality publication. I began by saying that being named editor of Professional School Counseling is a humbling and challenging undertaking; it is. However, rest assured, I am truly looking forward to being an integral part of our profession in the capacity of editor and will do my utmost to provide leadership through my professional commitment to school counseling and my personal commitment to excellence.