School Counselor

The Girls' Middle School • Palo Alto, CA

8h

About The Position

The School Counselor at The Girls’ Middle school leads social social-emotional learning programs. As a licensed practitioner in the mental health field, the Counselor is trusted to guide classroom practices, intervention strategies, crisis response, and SEL curriculum design. The Counselor will serve on the Student Support Team and on the Academic Council to ensure that each grade level has a school experience that is developmentally appropriate, trauma informed, and culturally responsive. The counselor also plans and delivers professional development to strengthen school-wide SEL practices and family education events to promote home-school partnerships and alignment on behalf of student development.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience working with children/adolescents and families
• Active associate number (ASW, AMFT, APCC) or full clinical license (LCSW, LMFT, LPCC) in California.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and documentation skills

Nice To Haves

• Experience in school-based or youth mental health settings preferred
• Bilingualism in English and a language spoken in our school community such as Spanish, Mandarin, or Hindi a plus

Responsibilities

• Instruction: teach the school’s social-emotional learning curriculum to students through the lens of middle school development
• Relationship building – assess student abilities, interests and goals to help them make decisions about their activities and future planning
• Counseling- provide professional assistance and support to a student or small group of students during times of transition, conflict, heightened stress, critical change or other situations impeding student success. The counselor does not provide therapy or long-term counseling at school but is prepared to recognize and respond to student mental health needs and to assist students and families seeking resources
• Social/Emotional Intervention: Partner with Dean of Student Support and Belonging and other administrators to address behavioral problems, bullying, and mental health issues via individual or group sessions
• Crisis Intervention: Provide support for urgent issues like safety concerns, abuse, or neglect
• Consultation: share strategies supporting student achievement with families, teachers, and staff
• Collaboration: work with other educators, families, and community-based organizations to support student growth and wellness. Support referrals for students and families to external resources and the community to support student growth. Facilitate learning from external experts and integrating knowledge gained by families through private assessments and consultations with mental or physical health care providers.
• Curriculum Design and Evaluation: Review and assess socio-emotional learning curriculum, designing and implementing new or revised content as needed to stay at the forefront of adolescent learning needs and address any emergent trends in the community. Consult with department chairs to identify opportunities to integrate SEL learning goals across content areas and to plan supportive instruction before and after sensitive or triggering topics.
• Data Analysis: Reviewing attendance, behavior, and academic records to identify and address barriers to learning.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees