Girard High School guidance counselor Pete Simpson poses with drill instructor Staff Sgt. Suarez during his week of basic training with the Marines at Parris Island, S.C.

When Marine recruiters come to the school, counselors can pass along information they learn through the educator’s workshops to the students, but they really don’t know how to answer many of their questions. At Girard High School, that is about to change. High School guidance counselor Pete Simpson saw first-hand what a potential Marine recruit will be going through during their 12-week basic training course at Parris Island, S.C. ‘‘We (guidance counselors) know a great deal about college,’’ Simpson said, ‘‘but little about the military. Now I can tell students first-hand what to expect,’’ he said. Simpson was chosen to be one of 12 educators a year to take part in a program that allowed counselors to spend a week with the U.S. Marine Corps. Some are assigned to the west coast and some to Parris Island in South Carolina, Simpson said. After four-years of trying to get into the program, Simpson was finally able to go in January, he said.