School Counselor

General Definition of Work

Through leadership, advocacy, and collaboration, school counselors promote student success, provide preventive services, and respond to identified student needs by implementing a comprehensive school counseling program addressing academic, career, and social/emotional development for all students. The major functions of the school counselor job description incorporate the schools’ mission of successfully educating the whole child to be a lifelong learner and career and college ready.

Qualification Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Salary

• State Salary Schedule Plus Local Supplement

Reports To

• Reports to administrator and relevant level counseling coordinator and/or Director of Student Services

Essential Functions

• Uses data to design and deliver a comprehensive school counseling program based on the NC Essential Standards for school counselors
• Operationalizes data to meet student needs
• Ensures that direct services to students follows the licensure recommendation of 80% of time worked
• Delivers a comprehensive school counseling program:
• • Counsels students individually and in small groups for specifically identified needs within the three ASCA domains: academic, personal/social, and career.
  • Collaborates with parents and/or relevant stakeholders individually and in small groups to foster academic success for students.
  • Prepares and presents subject area content related to academic, career, and social-emotional success for students including sessions regarding personal growth, school adjustment, career development, self-concept, attendance and related matters.
  • Collaborates with teachers, administrators, parents and outside agency personnel to support the whole child.
• Advocates for students, parents, and staff.
• Responds to and supports efforts to stabilize student crisis situations on an individual and school-wide basis.
• Collaborates with school and/or district personnel to support Cabarrus County's Bullying and Harassment Policy and Procedure.
• Consults and collaborates with other specialized instructional support personnel (nurse, school resource officer, social worker, psychologist), MTSS team, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Is accountable for the success and outcomes of a comprehensive school counseling program:
• • Serves on the school’s MTSS team as the subject matter expert addressing behavior and social emotional needs.
  • Serves on the school’s 504 team as an advocate for students with mental health, cognitive, and physical needs.
  • Collaborates with staff working with students in special populations within the scope of the school counseling role.
  • Analyzes data for school counseling services to ensure alignment with school and student needs.
  • Analyzes and interprets student academic data (EOG, EOC, course selection)

• Coordinates student transitions into new schools.
• Participates in and leads professional development opportunities.
• Performs other duties as deemed appropriate and assigned by the School Administrator.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to prepare, read and comprehend a variety of job-related forms, reports, spreadsheets, maps, plans, records, documentation and correspondence in all languages required by the job.
• Ability to speak to individuals or groups of people with poise, voice control and confidence.
• Ability to respond adequately to inquiries or complaints.
• Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or diagrammatic form.
• Ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions.
• Ability to perform under stress, deal with persons acting under stress and adapt when confronted with emergency situations.
• Ability to maintain proper professional conduct.
Ability to keep in confidence all personal, student or personnel records and information.

Education and Experience

• North Carolina Standard Professional II License (K-12) – Level M.
• Professional School Counseling License (NC DPI).

Physical Requirements

• This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force.
• Work regularly requires speaking or hearing, using hands to finger, handle or feel and repetitive motions, frequently requires sitting and occasionally requires standing, walking, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, reaching with hands and arms, pushing or pulling and lifting.
• Work has standard vision requirements.
• Vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word
• Hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels.
• Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, operating machines, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities.
• Work occasionally requires exposure to outdoor weather conditions.
• Work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).

Special Requirements

• Must be eligible for licensure in North Carolina as a School Counselor.

Disclaimer

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job.