What are the responsibilities and job description for the Elementary School Counselor (Wexford & Berkeley Hills Campus) position at EDEN CHRISTIAN ACADEMY?
As the school counselor for the elementary schools, he or she will be responsible to provide spiritual, emotional, social, and academic support for students. This is a full-time position, Monday-Friday. The position will be split between Eden Christian Academy's two elementary campuses (Wexford and Berkeley Hills.)
The School Counselor will encourage students to cultivate a biblically framed identity as stewards of talents uniquely entrusted to each of them by God for engaging in his mission in this world. (Matthew 25:14-20) The counselor will help students develop essential life skills such as self-awareness, social awareness, relationships skills and decision-making. The School Counselor will utilize personal, family, and group interventions to advance academic and personal development.
Requirements:- The School Counselor will provide the school community, parents, students, and teachers with an exemplary, ongoing professional student-counseling program
- Evaluate children in order to obtain the information necessary for planning and consultation to develop plans that help meet the functional and educational needs of each child served
- Partner with students, parents and staff to create proper academic goals for each child
- Partner with students, parents and staff in additional to any identified outside resources to create appropriate social, emotional, behavioral or academic goals
- Deliver engaging counseling sessions to our students with a Biblical framework
- Assist teachers and staff in maintaining an atmosphere that promotes growing and learning
- Prepare and update materials based on student goals and needs
- Help plan & implement new student orientations, ensure new students are adjusting well
- Effectively communicate with school administrators and other staff members regarding any issues that impact the performance of the students
- Provide mentoring and other intervention models (group or individual) to children and their families as needed
- Assist teachers with behavior management strategies.
- Provide staff with essential information to better understand affecting a student's performance and behavior.
- Train school staff on social and emotional topics, like bullying, suicide prevention, and trauma-informed approaches to education
- Assist in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies, implementing educational programs, including programs on safety and bullying.
- Assist parents in accessing and utilizing school and community resources
- Contact the Children Youth and Families Services as a mandatory reporter
- Refer to outside counseling resources when necessary, act as triage and support, not as primary counseling support
SEAS - Social Emotional Academic Support
- Helps all students manage emotions and apply interpersonal skills
- Helps all students apply academic achievement strategies that will assist all students with their SEAS
- Helps all students in goal setting related to SEAS
- Provides short term counseling to all students
- Collaborates with families/teachers/ administrators/community for student success in SEAS
Qualifications
- Have a mature relationship with Jesus Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior and be active in an evangelical church.
- Be a Christ-like model for students in attitude, speech, and actions toward others (Luke 6:40)
- Excellent communication and relationship building skills
- Ability to work effectively on a multi-treatment team, generate leadership for the faculty and students
- Be supportive of the school's mission and doctrinal statements.
- Understand and support career stewardship philosophy and seek to view the features of the school counseling ministry in that context.
- Proficient in numerous clinical interventions
- Knowledge of and ability to access community resources
- Basic personal computer skills (Gmail, Word, Excel).
- Understanding of the philosophy of Christian Education
- Provide acceptable PA DOE employment clearances dated within one year: FBI Fingerprint/ Act 114 Federal Criminal Background Check (Identogo Service Code 1KG6TR), Act 151 State Child Abuse Background Report, and Act 34 PA State Police Background Clearance.
- Education: Master's degree required in education, counseling, psychology, social work, or related field
- License Optional: A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
- Secure an ACSI School Counseling certification
- Fulfill continuing education requirements to maintain the ACSI certification
Physical Requirements to Fulfill the Essential Functions of this Job
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times.
- Move about classrooms and hallways and supervise students.
- Physically accompany students in the hallways or in other places in the buildings as the students move from one location to another location on the premises.
- Have sufficient vision to allow for active supervision and interaction with students.
- Have the ability to quickly summon help when an emergency arises either in the classroom, gymnasium or on the field.
- Climb the stairs to reach the classrooms/offices on higher floors at all campuses.
Compensation
- Salary commensurate with qualifications.
- Benefits for FT 10 month employees include individual medical and vision insurance, life & disability insurance, 403b with 58.3% employee match (caps and vesting restrictions apply), 75% tuition remission, 2 personal days per school year, accruing sick days per handbook guidelines