Elementary School Counselor
Peak to Peak Charter School
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Plan, design, evaluate and implement counseling and character education lessons to the K-5 student population that align with ASCA's Mindsets and Behaviors and the CASEL competencies.Examples of such topics may include: friendship issues, bullying, cyber safety, emotional regulation, mindfulness, social skills, climate and equity issues etc.
Provide individual or small group counseling sessions and targeted interventions addressing issues influencing achievement or success.
Plan, coordinate, and oversee all elementary 504 Plans
Work collaboratively with students, teachers, administration, parents and community resources to promote student achievement
Provide consultation services to teachers, support staff, administration, and parents to promote student achievement
Work collaboratively with K-5 teachers to support social-emotional learning curriculum
Conduct small group planned activities outside of classroom activities to support career, academic and social/emotional development
Write regular articles for school communication channels to summarize counseling lessons and social-emotional learning activities
Pursue professional development that supports student achievement and school-wide goals
Be a leader in character education K-5 for positive school culture
Establish cooperative, supportive working relationships with students, families, faculty and administrators
Collect and maintain data-based documentation for student performance and progress monitoring
Contribute to and participate in the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Student Support Team (SST) meetings.
Conduct bullying education/counseling for Elementary School students, staff and community; oversee bullying prevention for Elementary School as needed
Provide crisis counseling and intervention and referral services as needed (i.e. referrals for psychological testing with the assistance of the Special Education Supervisor and School Social Worker/ Psychologist; working closely with learning services department in coordinating efforts with the special education population)
Assist in development, coordination and participation in parent education nights
Create and implement K-12 counseling goals with K-12 counseling team
Participate and contribute to district and Peak to Peak K-12 counseling meetings
Provide data analysis to administration on annual basis (i.e. lessons, student contacts, groups)
Communicate regularly with Elementary School Principal, administration and counselors
Communicate support of Peak to Peak’s mission and vision and follow appropriate lines of communication
Other duties as assigned
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.
REPORTING STRUCTURE
The Elementary School Counselor reports directly to the Elementary School Principal.
QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
Master’s degree in school counseling or a related field such as counseling psychology, social work, or within a clinical counseling domain required
Master’s degree in school counseling strongly preferred; master’s degree in a related field will be considered in conjunction with demonstration of ongoing progress toward meeting full school counselor licensure requirements
Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain positive and effective working relationships with students, parents, school staff and administrators
Demonstrated initiative and skills in the following areas: relationship and community building, social-emotional learning, parent education, bullying intervention, team building
Excellent written and oral communication skills are required
Proficient with a variety of computer programs including Google Suite and Microsoft Office Suite
Demonstrated experience in effectively solving challenging problems through a positive, collaborative approach
Must possess a high degree of maturity and energy for working with Elementary School students
Knowledge of and strong commitment to character development
Ability to provide effective stress management for staff and students
Strong organizational and coordination skills
Strong self-starter; able to work with limited direction
Excellent interpersonal skills, conflict management skills, problem solving skills and demonstrated leadership abilities
Ability to apply superb judgment
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, policy and expectation documents, staff agreements, evaluation rubrics, 504's, suicide assessments and behavioral plan documents. Ability to effectively document classroom observations, analyze data to improve instructional practices and correspond with staff from all levels. Ability to speak effectively before groups of students, staff, administrators and parents.
REASONING ABILITY
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to sit and reach with hands and arms. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The hours may be long when specific needs arise, thus some extended schedules will be necessary. This is a position that must attend the needs of staff, Administrators, Peak to Peak Board of Directors and parents. Work may consist of ten (10) plus hour days with Weekend work required from time to time. Peak to Peak is a dynamic school subject to changing work environments, adaptation of new educational principles and values, and evolving culture. Adaptability to change is essential.