Grade 5-8 Counselor

Our School

The International School of San Francisco is a bilingual, multicultural learning community where students learn to navigate the complexities of the world with confidence, empathy, and joy. Our vibrant urban campus is situated in the heart of the city and serves nearly 1,100 students beginning at age 2 and continuing through grade 12.

Mission

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, The International School of San Francisco offers programs of study in French and English to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to communicate across cultures is of paramount importance.

Opportunity

Working at The International School of San Francisco opens up a myriad of opportunities both personal and professional. When minds and cultures from around the world come together, boundless curiosity takes hold; faculty and staff benefit from that deep intellectual engagement and joyful discovery as we live out our values of respect, integrity, inclusion, collaboration, and curiosity. Each employee is both teacher and learner in our vibrant, multicultural, multilingual school community.

Position Overview:

The Grade 5-8 Counselor fosters an environment of dignity and belonging by delivering counseling programs and services that promote the social and emotional well-being of students according to their developmental needs as they transition from Lower School through the completion of Middle School. This counselor provides preventive, developmental, and short-term counseling support within a school setting in accordance with best practices in the field. Reporting to the Director of Student Support, the counselor communicates actively with colleagues in the Student Support Team (SST) to ensure that all students have the opportunity to grow academically, engage fully in co-curricular activities, and thrive in our community. Working closely with the section principals, other SST members, classroom faculty, and leadership, the counselor fosters frequent communication about student needs and progress. The counselor partners with families to ensure appropriate support and facilitate any necessary external referrals for long-term services. The counselor collaborates on the design of the Middle School advisory program and provides explicit lessons on social-emotional learning topics for each grade level according to developmental needs. Additionally, recognizing that behavior is communication, the counselor suggests strategies to proactively address emerging concerns or patterns among students.

Focus and Responsibilities:

• Provide educational and preventive counseling services for individuals and small groups on a short-term basis in keeping with best practices for school counseling.
• Ensure the identification of students requiring more immediate, intensive, or long-term mental health support, and collaborate with other school personnel to provide referrals to external providers.
• Manage rapidly emerging issues in accordance with best practices in the field, ensuring effective communication with school personnel, families and caregivers, and external agencies as needed.
• Support other school personnel with fulfilling their responsibilities under state mandated child protection reporting laws.
• In collaboration with principals, SST members, and other colleagues, with the support of outside experts & guest speakers, develop and present age-appropriate programs for students and families in the areas of social and emotional (SEL) competency, wellness, life skills, peaceful conflict resolution, and bullying prevention among other topics.
• Collaborate on the development and implementation of educational programs for students and families on key issues for early adolescents, including topics such as, but not limited to, gender, sexuality, relationships, consent, and drugs and alcohol.
• Provide opportunities for community education and discussion on parenting and child development that favor school adjustment and foster healthy home-school partnerships.
• Participate with the principals and section team in the ongoing development of the Middle School Advisory Program.
• Proactively develop and implement relevant new programming that addresses current needs and trends among students and/or families.
• Maintain a consistent cadence of communication for families and caregivers, providing regular updates and resources on student programming and other topics.
• Document interventions to ensure that the principal and section team, the Director of Student Support, and other school personnel have appropriate visibility about students receiving services.
• Ensure timely communication of emerging and immediate issues to relevant school personnel, including the principals, section teams, and others as needed.
• Participate in and contribute to every conseil de classe (grade level student meeting).
• Build genuine and trusting relationships with students, with a commitment to getting to know students individually.
• Maintain open lines of communication with families and caregivers while ensuring appropriate confidentiality according to professional standards.
• Liaise with external providers as needed.
• Participate in the life of the community with authenticity, approachability and warmth.
• Use data and feedback from students and faculty to assess needs and evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs.
• Participate in student activities, including trips and retreats.
• Other duties as assigned.

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Education/Qualifications

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a diverse, fast-paced, multilingual educational environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Commitment to a holistic, collaborative model of student support
• A desire to create strong relationships with community members
• Sound clinical judgement and a clear sense of the boundaries of the school counselor’s role
• Master’s Degree in Psychology/School Counseling or equivalent preferred
• Professional license in the State of California (or the equivalent)
• Experience with early adolescents
• Bilingual in French a plus
• Must be eligible to work in the U.S.

This is a full-time, salaried position reporting to the Director of Student Support. Salary range is $65,153 - $110,975 depending on experience.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICY

The International School of San Francisco is committed to providing an open, fair, inclusive, non-discriminatory environment for all individuals across differences of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, socio-economic status, ethnicity, age, physical ability, or medical condition. We seek to increase the presence, representation, and inclusion of U.S. historically under-represented people of color, international, bilingual, and bicultural students, faculty, and staff; and, to provide an environment that will attract and retain individuals identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex (LGBTQQI).