Job Description

School Counselor

The guidance counselor works with pupils, teachers and parents, emphasizing the developmental needs of all students through counseling, consultation and coordination. The guidance counselor reports directly to the building principal. Certification in guidance counseling from the Department of Education is required for the position.

Performance Responsibilities:

• Provides counseling and guidance to students individually: Helps students resolve and/or deal with personal problems that arise in dealing with peers, family, school, and other situations causing stress. Helps students become adequate and responsible in their own choices and decision making. Helping students discover themselves as worth-while people, developing understanding and acceptance of themselves and others. Allows individuals (students, parents, teachers) to discuss problems or concerns with a professional counselor who will listen carefully, discuss available options, keeps confidence and neither judges nor stops approving of him/her as a person.
• Assists students in fulfilling their educational requirements and needs by observing their academic growth.
• Evaluates records of all new students for placement.
• Periodically summarizes progress of counseling in guidance records.
• Provides group guidance: To work with special needs groups to supplement individual counseling and to focus on common issues and needs. To provide whole class guidance as time permits with needs determined by counselor, class, teacher, and/or principal. To facilitate effective education and vocational exploration within the classroom as time permits. This may be actually provided for by counselor, teacher or other qualified person.
• Family counseling as time and need allow.
• Adolescent Health- education program teaching, discussing issues dealing with puberty and adolescence.

Consultation:

• Provides services to school staff.
• Consults with teachers / administration about specific students.
• Work to enhance or help set-up behavior management programs.
• Consultant to teachers.
• Active consultant to Pupil Placement Team.
• Resource person for teachers / administration especially in areas of adjustment problems and child developmental needs.
• Consult with outside agencies such as child and Family Services, Welfare Dept., Juvenile Officer, school psychologists, social workers, staff and other schools and programs (ex. TAC).
• Resource to parents/families.
• Directly contacts and/or responds to parents to discuss personal adjustments and areas of concern.
• Interprets previous grades and tests as needed.
• Discusses discipline cases.
• Makes appropriate referrals and recommendations.
• Consults with other counselors.
• Discuss common concerns.
• Evaluate needs.
• Strives to improve and maintain professional competence.
• Consults and works closely with school nurses.

Coordination:

• Evaluates records of new students to pick up special needs areas and/or for placement.
• Assists students in fulfilling their educational requirements and needs by observing academic growth through test results and teacher/parent/student consultation and coordination.
• Makes appropriate referrals for special testing.
• Coordinates services with other counselors, students, parents, teachers, and others as needs arise.
• Set-up, coordinate and supervise counselor intern program for maximum program effectiveness.

Conditions of Employment:

The term of the contract will be for 200 days or in accordance with current master agreement. Each school counselor will be evaluated on an annual basis by April 1. Evaluations will be completed by the building principal.

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