School Counselor - IDEA Montopolis College Prep (Immediate Opening)

IDEA Public Schools•Austin, TX

About The Position

The School Counselor leads the campus vision for family engagement, social-emotional learning, and the coordination of mental health and counseling supports for students. The role ensures that staff build authentic relationships with students and families, use accurate data to guide interventions, and understand their responsibilities in supporting student and family success. The School Counselor helps create a physically and emotionally safe school environment where students can learn, grow, and develop the academic and social skills needed to go to and through college. The position leads student persistence efforts, family and student engagement, new-family onboarding, and campus use of social-emotional learning curriculum. It also provides direct student services, documents interventions and crises, coordinates with community agencies, connects families to resources, and serves on the campus crisis response team. The School Counselor oversees accurate tracking and reporting of persistence and crisis data, supports risk and threat assessment protocols, and helps campus teams respond to survey findings and student needs.

Requirements

Master's degree in School Counseling, Counseling, Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, or a related field.
Valid Texas School Counselor certification or counseling/social work licensure, including LMSW, LCSW, LCSW-S, LPC-A, LPC, LMFT-A, or LMFT.
Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to manage student behavior.
Belief in and alignment with IDEA's mission and values.
Ability to adjust and adapt to a variety of situations in the school environment.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in a school or school setting.

Responsibilities

Lead campus strategies and staff accountability for family engagement and overall student persistence.
Plan and execute student and family engagement events and professional development on staff roles in family engagement.
Manage student persistence data, including at-risk coding, potential leavers, dropouts, and leaver coding; ensure accuracy and reporting in partnership with campus teams.
Notify relevant stakeholders about persistence data and reasons students are leaving, and identify trends.
Partner with grade-level teams to identify at-risk students and coordinate interventions.
Lead parent conversations and problem-solving in collaboration with the campus lead team.
Manage family communication platforms, including Remind, Smore, and Facebook.
Administer and analyze parent and student surveys twice per year and develop strategic responses to feedback.
Partner with the Enrollment Specialist and APO to onboard new students and families, and lead new-parent events and persistence efforts.
Ensure new students and families build community and a sense of belonging within their first 10 days.
Document at least ten hours of direct student services weekly and record interventions and crises in the district-wide documentation system.
Collaborate with community agencies, connect students and families with resources, and coordinate services with campus staff and community support providers.
Serve on the campus crisis response team and support students' and families' social-emotional needs.
Lead training and implementation of the Move This World social-emotional learning curriculum; conduct observations, provide monthly teacher feedback, and track curriculum progress.
Conduct beginning- and end-of-year assessments of mental health competencies, school climate, safety, and belonging, and develop action steps based on findings.
Ensure required safety plans or re-entry meetings are documented following risk and threat assessments and that crisis responses are documented within the required timeframe.
Track and periodically audit campus crisis data across required systems, present updates at monthly CCT meetings, and collaborate with CCT members on protocol compliance.
Ensure CCT members are trained in risk and threat assessment protocols, and create crisis binders and conduct walkthroughs with CCT members.

Benefits

Base medical plan with the majority of the employee premium covered, and subsidies for most costs for a spouse/domestic partner and children.
Eligible staff may receive up to 8 weeks of paid family leave for the birth or adoption of a child, subject to tenure and caregiver designation.
Tuition reimbursement of up to 50% of qualifying tuition costs, capped at $5,250 per year and subject to manager discretion and budget availability.
Employer-paid mental and behavioral health services, including five face-to-face counseling sessions annually, unlimited 24/7 telephonic counseling, and other work-life services.
Dental and vision plans.
Disability and life insurance.
Parenting benefits.
Flexible spending account options.
Generous vacation time.
Referral bonuses.
Professional development.
403(b) plan.
Relocation allowance may be offered, if applicable.
Performance bonus based on team performance and goal attainment.