Invitation to Apply for Guidance Counselor at University Charter School:

We are now accepting applicants for Guidance Counselor.

Reports to: Director of Instructional Support

Application Deadline: Until position is filled

Start Date: August 1, 2025

Answering the Call

Feeling trapped in the box of the traditional educational model? Ready to rethink rural, K-12 education? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could teach in an innovative rural school that cultivates

students’ creativity and makes learning relevant through real-world experiences? A school in which the content standards are the floor and not the ceiling? A school in which relationships are valued more than compliance? Well, here’s your chance!

We are searching for individuals who are comfortable working in an exciting environment, who are risk-takers and are driven to imagine and explore the limitless possibilities for our students, and who are committed to providing an engaging, yet rigorous, project-based/place-based approach to teaching and learning. Successful candidates will be highly collaborative, yet independent thinkers, and will be comfortable “co-working” with their professional peers. Do you want to teach your students on a deeper level and facilitate opportunities for them to develop their passions beyond the core content? You’ll be able to do just that at University Charter School. UCS is a diverse, student- centered school that is seeking educators who are prepared to lead and are passionate about UCS's

ambitious plans to re-imagine rural education. If you’re tired of the box of tradition, apply to teach at University Charter School, where the box does not exist.

University Charter School

University Charter School (UCS) is an innovative and new PK-12 public charter school that opened in August 2018 in rural Livingston, Alabama. For the 2025-2026 school year, UCS will have ~764 students in grades PK – 12. UCS is designed to be a rural, diverse school that cultivates independent thought, promotes the building of character and civic responsibility, and is committed to preparing all students for personal and professional success through the discovery of individual learning pathways in a rigorous and integrated Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STREAM) focused, project-based and place-based curriculum. The vision of University Charter School is to become a rural model for producing adaptable learners that have a strong sense of place, mission, and rural identity, and who recognize the value of collaboration within a school, across a community, and between diverse rural regions. Our graduates will be prepared to continually meet the demands of an ever changing economy and will be perceived as community leaders and catalysts for meaningful change. We see UCS as a purposeful, place- based, and collaborative pathway to encourage growth and retention in and to restore relevance to our rural community.

UCS is strategically and intentionally located on the campus of the University of West Alabama and was created in partnership with the University of West Alabama. UCS faculty and students will leverage the assets of the University through hands-on partnerships and academic projects with participating colleges and divisions that span health care, education, and the arts, to name a few.

UCS’s approach to education is unique in a number of ways:

• Location: The school’s location on the University of West Alabama campus in rural Sumter County, Alabama, will provide students with the opportunity to build rich and ongoing relationships with each other and benefit from the programs and opportunities available on campus and in our community. Sumter County, our rural community, has been challenged by a lack of high quality educational opportunities, a decline in overall child well-being, high poverty rates, high unemployment rates, low per capita income, and depopulation. UCS was created out of a partnership between the University of West Alabama and a rural, impoverished community in an effort to meet the educational needs of the children. By nurturing the diversity of a divided community, UCS presents a solution to the unique educational challenges that face rural communities by providing a blueprint for others to follow, as well as presents opportunities to demonstrate and implement PK-12 best practices in a rural setting.

• Curriculum: UCS’s curriculum is project-based and place-based, which will provide students with real-world local connections to what they are learning in school. Students will also have the autonomy to direct their course of study, allowing them to pursue academic work and projects that inspire them.

• Diverse by Design - Last but not least, UCS will ensure that a diverse group of students can take advantage of all of the opportunities this school will offer.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Serves as the registrar for all students enrolled in University Charter School

• Serves as the district test coordinator for all required and administered tests across University Charter School

• Evaluates student transcripts, updates student portfolios, maintains cumulative student records, and prints monthly grade reports

• Conducts academic advisement and postsecondary advisement for secondary students

• Conducts scheduling in PowerSchool for all students and courses

• Delivers guidance lessons to assigned classrooms/grades according to a prescribed calendar to meet compliance with expected standards, laws, and other mandates

• Co-chair the Youth Development Committee and Peer Helpers program

• Develops, implements, and evaluates an annual local school guidance and counseling plan in accordance with standards set forth by the state plan and commensurate with the local system plan

• Provides individual and group counseling and guidance in an effort to help students develop socially, emotionally, academically, and psychologically

• Assists with operational duties and tasks including but not limited to arrival, teacher and staff absences/substitutes, dismissal supervision and safety, routine drills, class changes, school events and assemblies, parent engagement events and opportunities, etc.

• Collaborates to review and collect data from students and families to drive programming as it relates to Family Engagement, Character Education, and SEL at UCS.

• Collaborates to design and implement the UCS Character Education program including daily announcements, monthly classroom instruction time, organization of monthly character education celebrations, and collaboration with teachers and the committee working to implement the house system.

• Organizes and facilitates annual “honors day” and “awards day” celebrations.

• Helps identify students in need of special services, placement, motivation, support, etc. Makes referrals to school resource personnel or community agencies.

• Utilizes community resources to address the needs of students

• Serves as resource for and liaison between schools, community agencies, teachers, students and parents and takes an active part in interpreting the school’s objectives to parents and the community at large

• Demonstrates proficiency in written and oral communication

• Complies with local, state, and federal policies, regulations, and laws affecting the area of responsibility as well as the American and Alabama School Counselor Associations

• Assumes responsibility to perform any work which is assigned by an administrator, including the immediate supervisor

Qualifications

The strongest candidates will have the following certifications, skills, and experiences:

• AL Educator Licensure/Endorsements or equivalent Out-of-State Licensure/Endorsements (if hired, out-of-state candidates must obtain necessary AL licensure)

• An undeniable enthusiasm for and commitment to authentically engaging youth

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Exceptional organizational and planning skills

• Evidence of excellence in teaching in a student-centered and rigorous environment

• Experience in a project-based learning environment is strongly preferred, but not required

• Willingness to learn, explore, experiment, question, create, critique, and enhance as we RETHINK RURAL EDUCATION.

Salary and benefits

UCS offers a competitive salary dependent upon degree and experience and a comprehensive benefits package including State health insurance and retirement.

Online applications are stored on a secure site

Only authorized employees and hiring authorities have access to the information submitted.

UCS does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religious preference, marital status, disability, national origin, or any other reason prohibited by state or federal law. Employees of the District are required to comply with the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments. Alabama school boards are required by state law to verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees by using the federal E-Verify program. New employees are required to provide a Social Security number, an unexpired identity document that contains a photograph, and other acceptable documents that establish employment eligibility. In addition to determining whether a new hire is authorized to work in the United States, E-Verify will confirm that the employee's name and Social Security number match. All applicants must pass a background check through the Alabama State Department of Education to be eligible for employment.