The posting
Guidance Counselor Job Description
Job Title: Guidance Counselor
Report to: Head of School
Shift type: Full time
Contract Term: 12 months
Location: The Islamic School of Irving
BASIC FUNCTIONS:
Student & School-Wide Support
- Provide consultation to school administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents regarding personal social and emotional needs of students
- Conduct a needs assessment and evaluation of bullying, violence, and risky behaviors
- Provide individual/group counseling for at-risk students
- Refer students who need intense or specialized services to district or outside agencies
- Provide support for new and returning students
- Coordinate or assist the campus-based counseling team in facilitating interventions or strategies to remove barriers to student success
- Prepare and deliver a minimum of ten guidance lessons to all students to develop life skills, promote good character, develop resilience, and emphasize the importance of higher education and goalsetting
- The Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) counselor oversees and helps determine SEL policies, monitors staff needs and issues, and solicits feedback from staff about what is and what is not working. She/he is a good listener, providing support and training as needed to continue a strong and positive experience to meet student social and emotional learning requirements.
- The SEL counselor recognizes shifting cognitive and emotional needs of students within their school, looking for trends before they emerge and are established.
Staff Support & Coaching
- Raise the level of understanding among all staff about the importance of SEL as well as SEL-based approaches for working with individual students, classrooms and incorporating a SEL-focused school culture
- Coordinate or assist in implementing schoolwide activities related to healthy student development including Anti-bullying initiatives
- Coordinate staff-focused SEL and general self-care activities and information sessions
- Organize and facilitate staff training at monthly meetings, which could continue during the summer months (as needed)
- Participate in all staff meetings and trainings
Community Engagement & Outreach
- Conduct parent workshops, training, and general outreach to educate parents on the importance of positive environments and SEL, and enhance parents’ ability to support their children’s success
- Recruit community agencies as a resource to meet student and school needs
Special Projects
- Coordinate other activities that foster bully prevention and social and emotional and academic well-being of all students
- Perform all other tasks and duties as assigned by principal
- ISI personnel must comply with time and effort reporting requirements through personnel activity reports or periodic certifications, as appropriate.
- Regular and punctual attendance at the worksite is required for this position
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. A remote working environment /alternate work arrangement is not an option for campus-based employees/campus-based positions because regular and punctual attendance at the worksite and performing all duties at the worksite are essential job duties for all campus-based personnel.
Qualifications
- Master's degree in Guidance Counseling; valid Texas counseling certificate is a plus
- A minimum of five years counseling experience
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with diverse groups
- Effective interpersonal skills to interact with all levels of employees, staff members, and the general public
- Competence with the use of technology required in a professional office
- Ability to promote a positive, caring climate
- Process all levels of work on assignments from beginning to end
- Effective and efficient decision-making skills
- Ability to coordinate multiple projects and assignments; high degree of flexibility required
- Knowledgeable of counseling procedures, student appraisal, and facilitating student growth
- Knowledgeable of social and emotional learning competencies, restorative practices, and positive behavior interventions
- Ability to interact and communicate effectively with students, staff, and parents
- Demonstrated ability to coach school staff and provide support with implementing SEL-based approaches (at the student, classroom, and school-wide levels)
- Demonstrated ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
- Demonstrated flexibility to cope with the challenges of a rapidly changing world
- Demonstrated willingness to remain current with the latest developments in the profession
- Apply academic achievement strategies
- Manage emotions and apply interpersonal skills
- Plan for postsecondary options (higher education,military, work force)
- Individual student academic planning and goal setting
- School counseling classroom lessons based on student success standards
- Short-term counseling to students
- Referrals for long-term support
- Collaboration with families/teachers/ administrators/community for student success
- Advocacy for students at individual education plan
- Meetings and other student-focused meetings
- Data analysis to identify student issues, needs and challenges n acting as a systems change agent to improve equity and access, achievement and opportunities for all students
A background check is required for all positions.
