School Counselor

School Counselor

Consistent with the recommendations of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model and the social-emotional learning priorities established by the Illinois State Board of Education, Zion District 6 recognizes the growing need for proactive social-emotional and behavioral supports at the upper elementary and middle school levels. Placing dedicated counselors within our 56 and 78 buildings would provide students with increased access to restorative conversations, conflict resolution, emotional regulation support, peer relationship development, and short-term social-emotional interventions. These supports align with Illinois SEL Standards focused on self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making, while also supporting ASCA's framework of improving student academic achievement, attendance, behavior, and overall school connectedness. By embedding counseling supports directly within these grade spans, the district can respond more proactively to student needs, strengthen school climate and culture, and provide developmentally appropriate interventions during critical transition years for students.

Representative duties:

• Provide social-emotional support to students in grades 5-8
• Facilitate restorative conversations and conflict resolution between students
• Support students with emotional regulation, coping strategies, and problem-solving skills
• Provide short-term individual and small-group counseling interventions
• Collaborate with teachers, administrators, social workers, and families to support student well-being
• Assist in creating positive school climate and culture initiatives
• Support student transition needs between elementary and middle school grade spans
• Respond proactively to behavioral, peer conflict, and social-emotional concerns
• Reinforce Illinois Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards within the school setting
• Align counseling practices with the American School Counselor Association National Model
• Help improve student attendance, behavior, engagement, and school connectedness
• Provide consultation and support to staff regarding student social-emotional needs
• Assist with crisis response and student de-escalation when needed
• Promote relationship-building, peer mediation, and responsible decision-making skills among students

Other requirements:

• Valid driver's license

Physical demands:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, talk or hear, and taste or smell.
• The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work environment:

• The employee shall possess personal computing skills with the following types of software including web browsers, word processing, spreadsheet, and databases and student database systems.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee works in a school setting with children, occasionally works in outdoor weather conditions, and is subject to noises associated with an educational environment.