School Counselor w/ Teaching Responsibilities (9.5 or 10 Month)

Principal

Classroom Functions:

• Build a classroom culture of excellence and deliver rigorous instruction by building content expertise in humanities and STEM that is captured in units of study and daily plans.
• Engage in cycles of data driven instruction to inform planning and personalize instruction to student needs.
• Collaborate with special education staff so students identified as needing extra support are meaningfully included.

School Counselor:

• Advises and counsels students regarding academic, educational, and short-term social and emotional problems.
• Remains universally accessible and makes an effort to know every student for whom they are responsible.
• Provides individual student planning and responsive services to support students and their families regarding academic matters.
• Teaches guidance classes and provides guidance counseling to students through planned activities in small group or classroom settings to convey educational, social, and important school information, and offers workshops/seminars for parents.
• Consults, facilitates, and maintains communication with parents, teachers, administrators, and pertinent agents on specific student and parent academic and educational matters including academic modifications and/or accommodations.
• Provides feedback and recommends appropriate action and solutions to individual student’s academic and educational needs and abilities.
• Participates on a Student Success Team, identifies students who may need targeted or intensive services, and coordinates with behavioral health specialists.
• Assists students/parents in understanding school policies and procedures.
• Provides brief counseling to address social and emotional concerns and appropriately refers students to behavioral health specialists.
• Communicates, coordinates, and collaborates with behavioral health specialists on developing and implementing student supports.
• Supports and attends appropriate student activities and events.

School Counselor Qualifications/Skills:

• Desire and ability to work with students at the specified age level with diverse backgrounds and levels of ability toward accomplishing their educational goals.
• Ability to organize tasks and manage time to meet many and varied deadlines and communicate effectively with students, parents, school administrators and other staff, including the ability to discuss topics which may be sensitive.
• Working familiarity with student assessment tools, especially in evaluating and interpreting standardized test results.
• Knowledge of educational software.

Professional Culture:

• Commit to doing and being their best, and to growing their skills as professionals and as individuals
• Attend all professional development meetings and opportunities that may exceed the regular school day hours of 7:30a-4:30p
• Urgently and courageously takes actions in the best interest of students, even if they are new or unfamiliar
  • Meet all professional obligations and proactively communicate when changes come up
• Exhibit a high level of honest and humble self-reflection owning good and bad outcomes
• Effectively respond to and implement constructive feedback
• Communicate effectively with colleagues and contribute to positive staff culture
• Collaborate with all staff members to ensure that all students have consistent and well-coordinated support
• Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor

• Master’s Degree in Counseling/Guidance, Education, or Social Work
• A valid teaching credential or enroll in an accredited credentialing program during their first year
• Agreement with the academic goals and philosophy of the Empower Community School
• Commitment to accountability, including a rigorous student testing regime
• Preferred: Prior experience in urban education