Elementary Counselor (Accelerated Campus Excellence - ACE) 2025-2026

Job Title:  Elementary Counselor                                                                       Wage/Hour Status: Exempt

                  (Accelerated Campus Excellence - ACE)            

Reports to: Principal or designee                                                                       Pay Grade: AD 2-$62,761                                                                                                                                                                                               

Dept./School: Academics and School Leadership                                           Initiated Date: January 2025     

WHO WE ARE

La Joya Independent School District (ISD) is committed to excellence for students and our community. We have a strong, 100-year legacy in the Rio Grande Valley. The district’s vision - Educational Excellence: The Right of Every Student -  conveys our urgent focus on students.

Our work is rooted in five district priorities, which require collaboration and deep commitment to supporting one another as we serve the community. 

1. Customer Service
2. Trust & Transparency
3. High-Quality Instruction
4. Excellence in Leadership
5. Integrity & Accountability

We are focused on ensuring every student in La Joya ISD has access to a high-quality, best-fit school as we work to improve from a B-district to an A-rated district. We serve more than 22,000 students in more than 30 schools and span six municipalities, covering more than 220 square miles.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are seeking a Counselor that can support the school through transformation for one of the district’s lowest-performing elementary schools. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated impact on student outcomes, accelerating student growth, building strong community relationships, and creating a culture of support and excellence. You will help a school turnaround while integrating multiple school communities and campuses together into one new, shared community and school. You must have the commitment and urgency needed to help quickly establish excellence and build structures to sustain that excellence over time. You will have to be ready for adaptive change in a very fast environment.

WHY LA JOYA ISD

You will be joining a district that is building on a legacy of achievement while rapidly improving and creating systems to reach new heights for student outcomes. You will receive intentional, targeted support in your leadership journey and have access to the highest-quality, research-based resources and instructional materials. We are also a district focused on continuous improvement and rigorous analysis of where we need to grow and learn.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ACE SCHOOL

All ACE campuses have an additional hour added to each school day and the campus will be open until 6:00 pm each day for student and community activities.

Leaders, teachers and staff:

• Promote an inspiring college­-going culture of high expectations
• Demonstrate an unwavering belief that ALL students can and will achieve
• Have a pervasive growth mindset for students and adults with a commitment to continuous improvement
• Use high-quality instructional materials and instructional best practices to accelerate learning for all students, creating faster and more growth for students
• Are committed to data driven instruction to diagnose needs, adjust and measure progress
• Value and invest in parent and community partnerships
• Are fully focused on transformation and establishing a beacon within the community

QUALIFICATIONS

Education/Certification:

• Master’s degree required; preferred in Education, Counseling or related field
• Valid or eligible to receive Texas Counseling Certification required
• Current certification or evidence of training in CPI ,TBRI, Restorative Practices, and PBIS preferred

 Experience:

• Minimum of three year’s teaching experience preferred

 Special Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated ability to support all types of students, including students with special needs and Emergent Bilingual students
• Deep knowledge of school counseling programs and educational evidence-based practices
• Knowledgeable in the physical, mental and emotional child development process
• Experience in using and interpreting data to inform decision-making processes that allow for intentional actions and lead to improved student achievement 
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong organizational and collaboration skills
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Professional Growth

1. Serve as a transformational educator working to create a best-in-class learning environment.
2. Participate in professional development and training to improve skills related to job assignment.
3. Foster collegiality and team building among staff members.
4. Provide for two-way communication with staff, students, parents, and community.
5. Demonstrate professional, ethical, and responsible behavior. Serve as a role model for students.
6. Commit to professional growth through active participation in reading workshops, seminars, conferences, and/or other designated professional learning.

 Academic Counseling Program:

1. Promote the expectation for high-level performance from students and recognize excellence and achievement.
2. Guide individuals and groups of students and parents to plan, monitor, and manage the students’ own educational development accurately without bias and including provision of information regarding post-secondary opportunities, career development, and student’s own personal and social development.
3. Support student progress through the academic curriculum, helping to identify any interventions or supports needed to meet the student’s needs, including special education when required.
4. Coordinate people and other resources in the school, home, and community to promote student success.
5. Use an effective process when referring students, parents, and/or others to special programs and services.
6. Evaluate and assess student performance in alignment with campus and district practices and expectations.
7. Disaggregate and interpret data in order to assist in developing appropriate next steps for classroom improvement.
8. Enhance the work of school personnel and parents in guiding student goal setting and planning by promoting understanding of standardized test results and other assessment data.
9. Perform home visits as required to support student needs. 

 Developmental Counseling Program:

1. Plan, implement, and evaluate a balanced comprehensive, developmental guidance and counseling program that includes counseling and/or social-emotional development curriculum and restorative practices, among others as designated.
2. Collaborate with school personnel, students, parents, and the community to plan, implement, evaluate, and promote continuous improvement of a developmental counseling program.
3. Promote the balanced provision of self-confidence development; motivation to achieve; decision-making, goal-setting, planning, and problem-solving skills; interpersonal effectiveness, communication skills, cross-cultural effectiveness; and responsible behavior in students.
4. Plan and conduct structured group lessons to deliver the counseling program effectively and in accordance with students’ developmental needs.
5. Use accepted theories and effective techniques to provide individual and group developmental, preventive, remedial, and/or crisis counseling.
6. Provide counseling services for all groups of students.
7. Evaluate and assess student performance in alignment with campus and district practices and expectations.
8. Disaggregate and interpret data in order to assist in developing appropriate next steps for classroom improvement.

Professional Learning Community (PLC’s)

1. Participate in Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) that create positive relationships amongst teachers and administrators while fostering a team culture of open sharing, risk taking and shared leadership, to work effectively as a team.
2. Attend and participate in faculty meetings, including designated PLC and other meetings.

 Effective Feedback

1. Receive coaching and meaningful feedback.
2. Participate in school visits as required. 

 Culture & Climate

1. Create, cultivate and lead a culture of excellence, support, and community for all school stakeholders.
2. Support a school student behavioral support system that results in positive student behavior and enhances the classroom and school climate.
3. Facilitate effective and timely resolution of conflicts.
4. Develop and maintain a school environment conducive to effective learning.
5. Enhance students' social, emotional, behavioral, and academic achievement.
6. Follow all policies, practices, and procedures that create optimal learning conditions for students with special needs in alignment with IDEA.

School or Community Relations

1. Make provisions for being available to students and parents for educational-related purposes outside the instructional day when required or requested to do so under reasonable terms.
2. Communicate with parents, families, and communities on a regular and consistent basis to ensure clear and consistent messaging to parents.
3. Engage with parents, families, and community members to increase parental involvement on the campus
4. Demonstrate awareness of school and community needs and initiate activities to meet those needs using appropriate and effective techniques to encourage community and parent involvement.

Fiscal, Administrative, and Facilities Functions

1. Maintain accurate, complete, and correct records as required by law, district policy, and administrative regulation to accomplish instructional goals and objectives.
2. Take all necessary and reasonable precautions to protect students, equipment, materials, and facilities.
3. Compile, maintain, and file all reports, records, and other documents required including accurate and timely reports.
4. Participate in safety inspections and drills.
5. Comply with district policies, state and federal laws and regulations affecting schools.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None

WORKING CONDITIONS

Physical Demands

Typical demands of a school environment. Lifting and carrying of books, boxes, and audiovisual equipment, light (15-20 pounds), climbing, stretching, visual acuity, walking, pulling, bending, stooping, climbing stairs, reaching, pushing, sitting, kneeling, standing, and twisting, may be required to control behavior through physical restraint.

Work Environment
Primarily school-based with regular interaction with district staff, educators, students, families, and community members. Campus visits will be required as needed and as a part of ensuring program implementation with fidelity and monitoring of service delivery models. Attendance at evening or weekend events may be required. Occasional prolonged and irregular hours.

Reading, supporting instruction, demonstrating computer skills appropriate for assignment, effective communication and interpersonal skills, ability to work well with students, concentration (detailed work), interpretive skills (policy, procedure, dates), reasoning skills, understanding verbal instructions, analyzing, differentiating, memorizing, coordinating, compiling, and computing.

Mental Demands:

Must maintain emotional control under stress.

POSITION WORKING DAYS
202 days

COMPENSATION

In addition to compensation based on the pay plan, an additional stipend of $7,500 per year will be paid while the school is designated an Accelerated Campus Excellence (ACE) school.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive description of all work requirements and responsibilities, and management reserves the right to revise the job description or require that other responsibilities be performed when the job changes. Additionally, the minimum level of education notated as a requirement could be supplemented by commensurate experience and/or certification(s) or license(s) as determined by the hiring manager.

Salary : $7,500 - $62,761