MS Counselor

Position Responsibilities

Middle School Counselor Responsibilities

Counseling Duties:

• Be a champion for a positive student life experience at SAS, working to support students and teachers
• Provide academic counseling services to a broad range of students, including assisting with class schedule setting, regular monitoring of academic progress, and collaborating with teachers and parents regarding academic progress
• Provide skilled direct counseling services in the form of individual/group counseling in consultation with parents, teachers and other related professionals
• Respond to complex social-emotional needs and provide personal counselling to students, including assessing level of severity/threat, plan short-term counseling support (6-8 sessions), triangulate services and support with parents, teachers, administrators, school psychologist, and mental health providers within the community. (While not a long-term/ therapeutic setting, the expectation is that counselors would be able to provide short-term support addressing mental health issues.)
• Encourage student involvement in extracurricular activities, guiding them towards making healthy extra-curricular choices
• Review academic files of incoming students, determining course placement and potential learning support(s)
• Collaborate with School Psychologist on student mental health/academic concerns
• Organize Orientation sessions for students and parents new to the school
• Provide support to the parent community through 1:1 consultation and larger-scale parent education programs
• Be a member of the SAS crisis team and assist during critical incidents
• Collaborate with teachers in service of students
• Collaborate with Admissions, Learning Support teachers and Administration
• Attend PLC meetings and counseling department events
• Participate in the development and sustainability of Peer Support Programs
• Create student support groups and activities, as needed

Other Responsibilities:

• Promote and ensure effective communication between all administrative team members.
• Liaise with the Division Principal and Deputy Principals, taking on tasks as assigned, including all school goals.

Personal:

• Demonstrate commitment to personal continuous professional growth and development.
• Continue involvement with students in various capacities.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships.
• Represent SAS with students, parents, staff, and the broader school community in a professional manner.
• Exhibit a professional attitude toward criticism.
• Recognize and strengthen personal performance through self-analysis of actions, participating in professional development activities, exploring educational research, participating in professional organizations, and through formal renewal programs.

Position Requirements & Qualifications

Position Qualifications:

• Master's (preferred) or Bachelor's Degree
• Counseling certification required
• At least 5 years of successful classroom teaching & counseling experience preferred
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Ability to adapt to flexible working conditions
• Ability to provide lessons/presentations on topics relating to socio-emotional learning to parents, students and faculty
• Willingness to provide extracurricular opportunities for students (i.e., clubs, coaching, etc.)
• Ability to work in a collaborative setting with a diverse team (i.e, admin, counselors, learning support, etc.)
• Experience working with middle school scheduling systems (ie Powerschool or similar) and strong technological skills (Google Apps, etc)
• Skilled at supporting students with a variety of learning differences.
• A strong background working with students in a school setting presenting with a range of mental health issues, including but not limited to: Anxiety, Trauma, Self-Injury, Depression, Suicide Ideation, Eating Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive, Esteem, Organization, Time management, Technology issues, Parenting difficulties (including crisis parenting issues), etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with middle school students
• Experience working in a diverse, multicultural environment
• Background using positive, proactive behavior interventions and support for students.

Working Requirements

• Sponsoring and/or coaching after-school activities are part of the responsibility of the professional educator. Therefore, faculty shall be available to coach and/or sponsor an athletic team or other extracurricular activity. Each faculty member is expected to do a minimum of one Category 1 activity or sport per year.
• Required attendance at school professional learning days
• Chaperone and participate in evening and/or weekend school activities each year, as assigned (including "Back-to-School Night").