School Counselor

School Counselor

School counselors work with students to help them develop academically, personally and socially and assist in career development through individual and group counseling, as well as classroom lessons. Counselors consult with parents, teachers, administrators, and other professionals to provide students with the resources and services to help them to be the best possible learners. In addition, they serve as a liaison between school, community agencies, and post-secondary opportunities.

Essential job functions include assisting students to achieve school success and develop skills to engage in life ready learning, counseling students in the areas of academic, career and personal/social issues, providing programs, activities and services which focus on helping children experience healthy academic and social growth, publicizing and coordinating information to students and parents regarding student opportunities, serving as an advocate for students and working to promote a healthy school climate and safe learning environment, collaborating/consulting with parents, teachers, administrators, and community resources concerning student issues, assisting with crisis intervention and in identifying and implementing prevention and intervention programs for students, promoting effective public relations through participation in community and professional activities, assisting students to become aware of life/career choices and participate in career development activities to prepare for life after high school, offering core curriculum lessons on problem-solving decision making and academic and career planning, assisting students with course selection relative to their educational pursuits and career goals, coordinating participation in career related activities, working collaboratively with students to develop academic and career plans, demonstrating commitment to improving professional competence, assessing students learning on an ongoing basis and altering instruction to meet individual/group needs, and may perform related work as assigned.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities required include knowledge in appropriate counseling interventions in a school setting, individual differences in ability, personality, and interests, learning and motivation, psychological research methods, and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders, a strong desire to help others and the ability to inspire respect, trust, and confidence, demonstrated ability in crisis intervention, decision making, problem analysis, conflict resolution, interpersonal relationships, planning and multi-tasking, command of Standard English, both spoken and written, ability to read, analyze, and interpret professional journals, memos and reports, ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of teachers, parents, students and the general public, ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions, ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, ability to effectively relate with persons from a diverse social and economic background, skill in the use of personal computers and related software packages, hardware and peripheral equipment, ability to collaborate effectively with other school personnel, parents and community agencies, ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, students and parents, knowledge regarding social and emotional learning, knowledge of current trends and methodologies used to address the needs of children with behavioral challenges, ability to recommend evidenced based practices as needed, extensive successful experience in analyzing and assessing behavior, developing, planning and implementing behavioral interventions, skills in evaluation, development and implementation of positive behavior intervention plans, knowledge of tiered intervention frameworks, knowledge of current accepted best practices utilized in the full continuum of placement options for students with behavioral challenges, knowledge of data tracking and collection, record management and reporting methods, and a demonstrated understanding of differentiated instruction.

Minimum qualifications include a master's degree, minimum of three or more years of recent successful teaching or counselor experience in a school setting, recent work experience using an automated student information system preferred, post graduate professional license with endorsement as school counselor.

The duties are primarily performed in an office environment, with no unusual physical demands. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.