24-25 - La Follette - School Counselor - 0.5 FTE (20 hpw)

MMSD is seeking highly motivated and energetic teacher applicants for openings for the 2024-2025 school year. The Madison Metropolitan School District actively seeks and encourages women and candidates of color to apply. 

Becoming a Model School District

The Madison Metropolitan School District  is committed to being anti-racist, culturally responsive, and inclusive. We have a simple but bold vision — to ensure that every school is a thriving school, fostering the growth of every student so they graduate from high school ready for college, career and community. 

Our strategy is captured in our strategic framework, and centers on three major goals: that all children achieve academically, that our schools are places where children and adults thrive, and that our Black youth excel at school. To achieve this vision, we seek to retain staff in all positions, who are committed to being anti-racist, culturally responsive, and inclusive. Staff who will actively contribute to our ongoing commitment to making MMSD a thriving, welcoming environment for all students, families and staff. 

We firmly believe and are here to create a work environment that is challenging and rewarding, while supporting you in your career path. We aim to foster, cultivate, and retain a skilled workforce that supports and mirrors the diversity of our student population.

We know this vision doesn't come to life without dynamic leaders in every school. For more information on our teacher screening and selection process, please visit our TEACH Madison webpage.

About Our District

The Madison Metropolitan School District is the second largest school district in Wisconsin. The district serves a beautifully diverse population of more than 27,000 students. More than half are students of color. Almost half come from low income households. Nearly one third are English Language Learners, and more than 100 languages are represented in our schools. Madison schools are committed to making this district a place where every child thrives.

Position Overview

MMSD school counselors are innovative leaders who actively work to identify and remove barriers to student achievement and well-being by championing practices that create equitable, safe, inclusive, and positive learning environments for all students.  School counselors engage students in exploring and identifying interests and aspirations and play an essential role in providing students the academic & postsecondary advising and social-emotional supports needed to experience personal success.

The school counselor is a core member of the school’s integrated pupil services team: This team works collaboratively, in partnership with teachers, administrators, families, and community organizations, to design and deliver a comprehensive, coordinated and customized system of student supports.  The primary purpose of this team is to create environments that maximize opportunities for learning and ensure that all students develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to achieve personal success as a college, career, and community ready individual.  

As a member of the pupil services team, the school counselor is an advocate for educational equity, promotes the healthy development of the whole-child, and is a leader of systemic change within their school community.  Through the provision of direct and indirect services, at both the student and systems level, the school counselor actively engages their school community in the closing of opportunity and attainment gaps and works to ensure that all students and families experience safe, welcoming, learning environments and positive interpersonal relationships.

Essential Duties

• Collaboratively develop and support delivery of a comprehensive school counseling program, that aligns with key school improvement goals and follows the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Model.  This is achieved through direct and indirect student services and should account for 80% of the school counselor’s time:

  • Direct Student Services:

    • School Counseling Core Curriculum: A planned, written instructional program that is comprehensive in scope (for all), preventative in nature and developmental in design. Delivered through classroom lessons, small group and/or school-wide events

    • Individual Student Planning: On-going systemic activities designed to help students establish personal goals and develop future plans

    • Responsive Services:

      • Counseling: Programming to meet students’ immediate needs and concerns. Designed to help students resolve academic, career and social-emotional issues and are delivered through short-term, individual or small group counseling.

      • Crisis Response: Support and assistance to students navigating critical and emergency situations.

  • Indirect Student Services:

    • Consultation: Strategic information sharing/receiving and planning with families, teachers, other staff and community partners to support student success and remove barriers to achievement and well-being.

    • Collaboration: Proactive development of authentic partnerships with students, families, educator colleagues, administrators and community partners to support student achievement and remove barriers to success.

    • Referral: Support for students and families to connect them with additional assistance and resources within the school and/or community. 

  • Program Management & School Support:

    • Program Management: Program development, resource/material organization, program monitoring, evaluation and refinement.  Use of ASCA National Model tools to guide program delivery & communication with key stakeholders.

    • School Support: Participation in school work groups, leadership teams, and/or committees that engage in planning and development activities.

    • Fair Share Responsibilities: The routine ‘running of the school’ responsibilities that all members of the school staff share.

Position Competencies

• High Expectations For Every Student

• Quality Instructional Practice

• Cultural Competence

• Data Proficiency

• Team Collaboration

• Student & Family Engagement

• Resilience & Results Orientation

• Self-Awareness & Growth Mindset