Summary
Wayland is an independent, coed college preparatory school for boarding and day students, founded in 1855. The school’s rich, rigorous academic program features exceptionally small classes, capstone projects at every grade, active media studies, environmental science, and STEAM programs, and an array of AP offerings. The diverse and welcoming school community brings together students from across the United States and more than 25 other countries in an intimate learning environment, with a student-faculty ratio of 5:1. Wayland’s historic campus is located in the heart of the Midwest in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin—just 40 miles from Madison and 60 miles from Milwaukee.
With a diverse student body, the educational experience and community at Wayland provide the perfect learning environment for the 21st century. The wide-range of course offerings provide students with the opportunity to explore areas of individual interest and personalize their experience. Our school motto, “Knowledge and Character,” guides us in preparing our students for successful futures.
Essential Functions
The major responsibility of the School Counselor is to support the mission and goals of Wayland Academy by providing mental health services and support to the Wayland Community. In addition, the School Counselor promotes a positive campus climate and helps maximize student learning by providing support in the overall health and wellness of the community. The School Counselor works as a part of a team to improve student achievement and personal and social development through strong and effective leadership. The School Counselor employs best practices of educational administration and high professional standards while working cooperatively with administration, faculty, staff, students, families, and the community in the best interest of Academy students. Responsibilities essential to these functions include:
- Remains universally accessible and tries to know every student.
- Provides individual student planning and responsive services to support students and their families.
- 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.
- Participates on a Student Success team, identifies students who may need targeted or intensive services, and coordinates with behavioral health specialists.
- Assists students and families 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.
- Assists students, parents, and faculty in solving social, emotional, and mental health concerns and facilitating student wellness.
- Works to develop and implement school-wide group and individual social and emotional support programs, as well as provides resources for our school community.
- Partners with teachers, specialists, families, and the Student Success team to create and manage student accommodations.
- Maintains confidential records. The Counselor will be considered a professional resource. As such, the Counselor shall exhibit professionalism through care in communicating, maintenance of objectivity, and discretion with regard to requirements for confidentiality. The Counselor will also be expected to be able to maintain appropriate documentation and electronic records for students using the school database management software.
- Serves as a resource for faculty and staff. The Counselor will be an objective, available resource to the adults in the community, even though the students are the Counselor’s primary responsibility.
- Serves as a resource for parents and families. The Counselor will work with the Student Success team on the development and implementation of parent/family education programs.
- Acts as a liaison for outside mental, social, emotional, and behavioral health providers. The Counselor will maintain a robust referral network of providers and be prepared to recommend local resources that might be helpful to families.
- Attends student conferences when appropriate.
- Reviews and creates Student Support Plan for students with social-emotional-mental health.
- Responds to students in crisis to assess the situation, evaluate the student, and provide recommendations regarding follow up.
Wayland Academy expects all staff to be fully engaged in the school's life and mission, in and out of the classroom.
Competencies
- 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 or the ability to learn.
- Experience in a school setting working and engaging with adolescents, educators, and parents.
- Experience writing and supporting the implementation of positive behavior plans.
- Excellent knowledge and practice of child development and counseling practices for adolescents.
- Commitment to one’s own health/wellness, recognizing this is the foundation for effective mental health practices.
- Strong familiarity with health and wellness topics, along with the ability to communicate these topics in the classroom and to the parent community.
- Demonstrated skill in working with parents, faculty, and staff in support of students.
- Proven ability to work collaboratively as a team player, keeping the student’s needs, challenges, and strengths at the center of every decision.
Supervisory Responsibilities
The School Counselor routinely supervises students in the health center, dormitories, dining hall, and other campus community related activities.
Work Environment
- The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
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 frequently required to walk, stand, sit, and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms.
- The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
- Regular and predictable on-site attendance is an essential job function and a prerequisite to perform other functions of the job.
Travel Required
- Traveling with and for students for medical purposes is a duty of the School Counselor.
- Unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon by the Head of School, the School Counselor must have a valid driver’s license, three years of US driving experience upon hire, and maintain the motor vehicle records standards as set forth by the employee handbook.
Required Education and Experience
- Master’s Degree in Counseling/Guidance, Education, or Social Work
- Minimum of 1 year of school counseling or teaching experience
- Understanding and familiarity with computer applications and word processing functions
Preferred Education and Experience
- Experience in counseling teenagers and young adults
- Experience with individuals from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, and sexual orientations
Work Authorization
- Employee must be authorized to work in the United States of America.
- Employee must provide identification documentation, provide a list of all states/countries of residence over the past seven years, and pass a comprehensive consumer background check (criminal, department of motor vehicle, credit, and others as needed) prior to employment.
Affirmative Action/EEO statement
Wayland Academy is committed to a workplace free of discrimination. Wayland Academy cannot and will not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sex stereotyping, gender identity, gender expression or transgender status), national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, age protected genetic information, status as a parent, marital status, political affiliation, or retaliation. In addition, Wayland Academy will not tolerate any type of harassment, either sexual or nonsexual, of any employee or applicant for employment.
Other Duties
The School Counselor may have reasonable duties and responsibilities assigned to him/her by the Head of School that the Head of School deems in his/her sole discretion to be desirable to the smooth functioning of the Wayland Academy programs.