The Ankeny Community School District (CSD) is renowned for its excellence across academics, athletics, the arts, and various activities. Situated in central Iowa, just 6 miles from Des Moines, Ankeny CSD caters to over 12,800 students from preschool through 12th grade, making it the 7th largest district in the state. With a strong reputation for its commitment to student success and a competitive salary and benefits package, Ankeny CSD is a standout choice for both educators and families seeking a high-quality educational environment.

JDE: 4.12A

Elementary Professional School Counselor 

Purpose Statement

Professional School Counselors  provide counseling and guidance services to students; manage the Counseling Services Program; identify and counsel students with special needs and behavioral social and school adjustment problems; make referrals to other community resources, support groups and social service agencies as appropriate. Elementary School Counselors in Ankeny also teach as part of the elementary specials rotation.

Job Title:  Professional School Counselor (Elementary)

Wage:  See Teacher Salary Schedule

Benefit Summary: C

Reports To:  Building Principal

Minimum Qualifications:

• Iowa Board of Education School Counselor License
• Successful completion of a background investigation
• Current and past leadership positions including but not limited to Lighthouse Coordinator, Leader In Me (LIM) action team member, ILT, CAT/CLT, mentor; preferred

Essential Functions 

• Delivers a comprehensive professional school counseling program for the purpose of improving student social/emotional, academic and career development.
• Collaborates with instructional staff, other school personnel, parents, and a variety of community resources for the purpose of improving the overall quality of professional school counseling programs to support the school improvement plan. 
• Collaborates with the building leadership team to research, select, implement, and evaluate professional school counseling strategies focused on improvement of student social/emotional, academic, and career needs.
• Assesses student social/emotional, academic and/or goals for the purpose of providing feedback to students, parents, and administration, and informs next steps.
•  Advises parents and/or legal guardians of student social/emotional, academic and career needs and/or goals for the purpose of communicating expectations, student's achievements, and developing methods for improvement and/or reinforcing needs and/or goals in the home environment.
• Research, identify, develop, and/or offer social/emotional, and academic professional development opportunities for staff.
• Administers programs, assessments, and inventories for the purpose of making informed decisions and guidance to support students’ growth and success.
• Manages student behavior for the purpose of providing a safe and optimal learning environment.
• Monitors students in a variety of educational environments (e.g. classroom, school campus, school assemblies and events, etc) for the purpose of providing a safe and positive learning environment. 
• Responds to inquiries from a variety of sources (e.g. other teachers, parents, administrators, etc.) for the purpose of resolving issues, providing information and/or direction. 
• Supports classroom teachers for the purpose of assisting them in the implementation of supporting the  social/emotional, academic and career needs and/or goals of students. 
• Interprets to students, parents, and teachers, test data and other information relating to the student’s progress in school. Utilize diagnostic and assessment procedures as appropriate; gather, organize and interpret data regarding students to present information to teachers and parents. 
• Participates in and/or leads a variety of meetings, including parent teacher conferences, PLCs, lEPs, 504 meetings, etc  for the purpose of conveying and/or gathering information required to social/emotional, academic and career needs and/or goals of students . 
• Prepares a variety of written materials for the purpose of documenting student progress and meeting mandated requirements. 
• Reports incidents (e.g.,  behavior infractions,  suspected child abuse, suspected substance abuse, etc.) for the purpose of maintaining personal safety of students, providing a positive learning environment and adhering to state and federal laws and school board policies.
• Assist with all aspects of the school improvement process related to the high school professional school counselor program. 
• Maintains accurate records.
• Maintain current knowledge of community resources and recent trends of counseling techniques. 

Other Functions 

• Responds to emergency situations for the purpose of resolving immediate safety concerns and/or directing to appropriate personnel for resolution. 
• Demonstrates integrity and maintains confidentiality.
• Works well with others, maintaining positive and effective communication with school personnel and works well with other custodians on jobs that require more than one person. 
• Is respectful and appropriately interacts with staff, students, and visitors.
• Upholds and adheres to safety rules and policies of the Ankeny Community School District safety program. 
• Supports the goals and objectives of the school district and follow all district policies.
• Demonstrates the ability to attend work on a regular and routine basis to avoid disruption to district operations.
• Perform all duties in a safe manner to avoid injury to oneself and/or others. 
• Performs other related duties, as assigned, for the purpose of ensuring the efficient and effective functioning of the work unit.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Specific knowledge based competencies required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include:
• Effective Personnel and academic counseling techniques and procedures. 
• Counseling theory, ethics and associated legal confidentiality requirements. 
• Principles, practices and procedures of educational counseling. 
• Specific laws regarding minors and child abuse reporting. 
• Applicable sections of the state Education Code and other applicable laws, rules and regulations 
• Curriculum and promotion requirements. 
• Normal and abnormal child behavior and development. 
• Behavior modification techniques and strategies. 
• Positive Behavior Support Plan development and monitoring for general education students. 
• Student assistance programs. 
• Community referral resources. 
• Diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability and ethnic backgrounds of District students. 
• Correct English usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary. 
• Record–keeping and report preparation techniques. 
• Operation of office equipment including a computer and assigned software. 
• Oral and written communication skills. 
• Interpersonal communication techniques and behavioral management techniques. 
• Developmental processes of students. 
• Counseling techniques to facilitate decision making: problem solving, and coping skills. 

• Specific skill based competencies required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include: 
• Interact effectively with students, teachers/staff and parents
• Adhering to safety guidelines
• Operating standard office equipment including using pertinent software applications, preparing and maintaining accurate records
• Using district approved crisis intervention techniques.
• Proficient technology skills

• Specific ability based competencies required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include: 
• Provide counseling and guidance services to students. 
• Identify and counsel students with special needs and behavioral, social and school adjustment problems. 
• Make referrals to other community resources, support groups and social service agencies as appropriate. 
• Assess student needs and develop viable plans and alternatives. 
• Plan, prepare and conduct individual, group and classroom counseling sessions. 
• Interpret, apply and explain rules, regulations, policies and procedures. 
• Maintain current knowledge of applicable laws, codes, rules and regulations. 
• Set limits and personal boundaries for students. 
• Prepare and deliver oral presentations. 
• Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action. 
• Work independently with little direction. 
• Meet schedules and timelines. 
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive and privileged information. 
• Maintain records and prepare various reports. 
• Establish and maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with others. 
• Operate a variety of office equipment and computer assigned software. 
• Maintain consistent, punctual and regular attendance. 

Working Environment 

Mental Demands/Physical Demands/Environmental Factors

The usual and customary methods of performing the position functions require the following physical demands:  significant lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, climbing, reaching, driving, standing and walking. Working conditions may include extreme temperatures and humidity.  Hazards may include exposure to communicable diseases. This position requires one to maintain emotional control under stress. Successful candidates are subject to post-offer pre-employment physical. 

Responsibility

Responsibilities include: working independently under broad organizational guidelines to achieve unit objectives. Utilization of some resources from other work units is often required to perform the job’s functions.  There is a continual opportunity to significantly impact the organization’s services.

Terms of Employment

Work year established by the Superintendent; Salary according to schedule adopted annually.

Clearances

Criminal Justice Fingerprint/Background Clearance

Evaluation 

Job performance will be evaluated annually, as per district policies and procedures

The foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties that may be assigned or skills that may be required.

Approved by:  Justin Mohr                                          Date: January 30th, 2025

Ankeny Community School District is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.  It is the policy of the District to provide equal employment opportunities and not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, age or marital status in its employment and personnel practices.  The job categories where the representative groups are underrepresented.