What are the responsibilities and job description for the School Counselor | 2025-2026 School Year position at Madison Country Day School?
2025-2026 | School Counselor
Madison Country Day School (MCDS) seeks an experienced, engaging, and compassionate school counselor to join our Student Services Team. We need a counselor who understands best practices in supporting student mental health and who is passionate about their work. We are looking for individuals who share our belief that a culturally rich and inclusive school community provides students with the best possible environment for a quality education.
POSITION
The ideal candidate is flexible and adaptive and will enjoy collaborating with our current school counselor and dedicated educators who are instructing Pre-K through Grade 12 students through an intellectually stimulating, personally enriching, and academically challenging program.
Applicants will be excited to be an active member of the MCDS Student Services team. Applicants must have successful experience working with culturally diverse students, teachers, families, and communities. Additionally, applicants must be innovative, creative, collaborative, hold a growth mindset, and be passionate about working with children of all ages.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Primary duties include, but are not limited to:
- Build and maintain effective relationships with parents to create an effective school-parent partnership for the benefit of the student.
- Work collaboratively with family members, specialist teachers, and other staff to achieve positive outcomes for all students.
- Have difficult conversations with parents, peers, and students with respect and professionalism.
- Create learning support plans for students with mental health concerns.
- Teach classes related to social emotional topics.
- Maintain student records in compliance with school policy, state and federal regulations.
- Meet with students on an as needed or on-going basis for emotional wellbeing, crisis management, and student mediation.
- Provide restorative work between students.
- Lead support groups in small cohorts for students (lunch bunch, etc.).
- Conduct observations of behavior (academic and social) within the classroom, playground, and during social time.
- Collaborate with teachers to provide social-emotional learning curriculum.
- Provide direct support to teachers for the academic and emotional needs of students who require more than the regular standards of good teaching practice. Help build accountability with check-ins and plan reviews.
- Join in Student Support Meetings to provide support, advice, and expertise for supporting students of concern.
- Provide support for parents regarding the mental health and well-being of their children
- Perform crisis interventions as needed, and coordinate critical incident intervention and best practices in coordination with other area schools.
- Attend faculty meetings on a regular basis and parent education evenings when relevant topics present themselves.
- Keep Division Heads and Head of School apprised of sensitive and escalated issues, meetings, and conversations with parents, teachers, and students.
- Refer families to psychologists and other mental health resources for their child.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE WILL
- Be intellectually curious and have the desire to spark a love of learning in students.
- Have an understanding of the impact of mental health and learning disabilities on students’ daily academic performance and mood.
- Have a warm and friendly personality.
- Preserve confidentiality (conversational information, documentation, etc.)
- Work closely with colleagues in mentoring and collaborative relationships.
- Have an in-depth understanding of child/adolescent mental health issues including (but not limited to) anxiety, depression, eating disorders, grief, ADHD, ASD, and behavior problems.
- Have an understanding of cultural diversity and the ability to provide culturally sensitive counseling and intervention.
- Have an understanding of local and national resources for the support of students and families
- Have the ability to coordinate well with psychiatric and psychotherapeutic providers in the community.
- Have knowledge of all stages of childhood development.
- Have crisis intervention skills including suicide assessment skills.
- Work efficiently in a Microsoft Windows or Mac environment using Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Blackbaud K-12; and can confidently learn new technology.
- Have a working knowledge of social media platforms.
- Have the ability to work in a moderately noisy environment.
- Work collaboratively in a hands-on team environment.
- Have experience designing and/or leading SEL lessons to students.
- Have experience in facilitating support groups for students.
- Be a visible member of the student, parent, and faculty community, actively participating in the life of the school. Through participation, become aware of issues general to the student body or specific to an individual student who could make use of counseling resources.
- Have a genuine appreciation of students of all ages, a sense of humor, and the ability to work well within a collaborative environment.
QUALIFICATIONS
- 2 to 3 years of experience as a school counselor
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Excellent listening skills
- Dedication to meeting the needs of diverse student learners
- Master’s degree or above in school counseling or mental health counseling required
- Being a licensed mental health professional (LICSW, LMFT, LMHC) is an advantage
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ABOUT MCDS
MCDS is an independent Pre-K through 12 International Baccalaureate (IB) World School offering the IB Diploma Programme, the IB Middle Years Programme, and the IB Primary Years Programme. At MCDS, all Faculty and Staff expect to feel welcome, safe, and heard. Meaningful relationships with community members are nurtured and keep us looking forward to coming to work each day. Tradition matters at MCDS, but moving forward with an eye to the new and different matters just as much. We are self-motivated professionals who take pride in and responsibility for the work we do.
At MCDS, our mission is grounded in two key beliefs about children and learning:
- Every child possesses an extraordinary capacity to learn.
- Effort is generally more important than ability.
These beliefs drive our decisions, inform our curriculum, and inspire our teaching and learning.
Madison Country Day School is Dane County’s only independent Pre-K–12 school, offering a challenging and comprehensive college‑preparatory education. MCDS is the only independent International Baccalaureate school to offer the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP) in Wisconsin. In an environment where each community member is truly known, MCDS students develop a deep knowledge base and life-long critical and creative thinking skills.
At MCDS we are looking for energetic, flexible, and open-minded teachers; motivated by new opportunities and challenges. We are seeking teachers who are passionate about and committed to the mission and vision of Madison County Day School and able to demonstrate the values and traits of the International Baccalaureate Programmes and Learner Profile while teaching and working.
Academic excellence begins with a rigorous, world-class curriculum coupled with our small class sizes and individualized instruction, the MCDS curriculum is the cornerstone of one of the country’s finest college-preparatory educations.
An inspiring learning environment is critical for maintaining our academic standards. Beginning with our esteemed faculty who exuberantly share their knowledge and love for learning on a daily basis, it continues with parents dedicated to providing the support children need for a quality education. And last, but certainly not least, students embody our everyday lessons of respect, acceptance and understanding.
Madison Country Day School’s vision is for all members of the school community to feel valued and supported as well as inspired to embrace the diversity of each person. MCDS respects, affirms, and protects the dignity and worth of each member of its community. We seek to establish a culture wherein every member feels safe, valued, and encouraged to participate in every aspect of the community.
Madison Country Day School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the School will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. MCDS does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, gender, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, hiring and employment practices, admission policies, scholarship and grant programs, or athletic and other school-administered programs.
