School Counselor - IDEA Owassa Academy (Immediate Opening)

IDEA Public Schools • Pharr, TX

22d • $54,987 - $78,385 • Onsite

About The Position

The School Counselor at IDEA Owassa Academy leads the campus family engagement vision, social emotional learning program, and coordinates mental health and counseling supports for all scholars. This role is crucial in ensuring staff build authentic relationships with students and families, and that data maintenance and analysis effectively drive campus strategies. The School Counselor will direct and hold all campus team members accountable for their roles in supporting students and families, ultimately aiming for all students to achieve the academic and social skills needed for college. This work ensures students feel safe physically and emotionally, enabling them to learn, grow, and succeed.

Requirements

• Master's degree in School Counseling, Counseling, Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, or related field required
• Valid TX School Counselor certification or counseling/social work licensure (LMSW, LCSW, LCSW-S, LPC-A, LPC, LMFT-A, LMFT) required
• Proven track record of success
• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage student behavior
• Belief in and alignment with IDEA’s mission and values is non-negotiable
• Ability to adjust and adapt to a multitude of situations in the school environment

Nice To Haves

• Previous experience in a school or school setting

Responsibilities

• Achieves/Owns Campus Goal of Overall Student Persistence
• Leads the execution of the school vision for retaining all students at the school by directing and managing all stakeholders at the campus in their roles and responsibilities in family engagement and student persistence.
• Leads the planning of and execution of student and family engagement events that are aligned to the school’s culture, community and family needs and promotes the authentic relationship building between the school and the family.
• Leads Professional Development for the entire campus to clarify the roles every staff member plays in family engagement.
• Manages the campus overall student persistence data to ensure 100% of data accuracy and reporting through close partnership with the PEIMS team on campus. Notify all stakeholders who own the persistence goal of the data and rationale as to why students are leaving to identify and analyze trends. Data management includes At-Risk Coding, Potential Leavers and Dropouts and Leaver Coding for withdrawals.
• Partners with grade level teams to help identify and coordinate intervention for at-risk students with responsibility and accountability structures for Grade Level Admin, API’s, GTLs and Teachers.
• Leads parent conversations and problem solves to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students and families in collaboration with campus lead team.
• Leads family communications platforms: Remind, Smore (Weekly Parent Newsletter), and Facebook
• Administer 2 parent surveys: 1 in the Spring and 1 in the Fall to get feedback from parents on communication and events. SC is responsible to analyze and create a strategic plan to respond to the parent input.
• Administer 2 student surveys: 1 in the Spring and 1 in the Fall to get feedback from our scholars with the IDEA experience.
• 90% New Student Persistence
• Partners with Enrollment Specialist and APO on the campus to ensure 100% of new students and families receive high quality on-boarding starting on day 1 of school.
• Directs and manages through influence all campus team members to their role in family engagement to retain new students from year to year.
• Lead the planning and execution of specific new parent events to welcome the new parents to the campus and helps them integrate and get acclimated to the campus culture and expectations with campus lead team.
• Owns the campus new student persistence to ensure 100% of data accuracy and reporting through close partnership with the SIS/Registrar and additional stakeholders on campus team. Notify all stakeholders who own the persistence goal of the data and rationale as to why students are leaving to identify and analyze trends.
• Through new family onboarding structures, ensures new families and students build community and develop a sense of belonging within the first 10 days of their first day of school.
• 90% Documentation Compliance: School Counselors Document at least ten hours of direct student services weekly
• Documents all interventions and crises/critical incidents in district-wide documentation system.
• Collaborates with community agencies to coordinate services within the school system.
• Utilize Student & Family Survey data twice a year to assess campus climate and culture.
• Member of crisis response team on the campus to provide and ensure student or family social/emotional needs are being met.
• Connects student and families to community resources to get the support needed. Is the liaison between community support person and campus to share information to wrap services around the student.
• 90% of assigned teachers use Move this World, social emotional learning curriculum with fidelity (as defined by students interact with video program 3 days a week)
• Lead teacher and campus training on Move This World curriculum and implementation expectations.
• Identify and utilize best practice strategies to invest and create a culture of excitement around the integration of a Mental Health curriculum in the daily schedule.
• Conduct regular rotating observations of Move This World blocks using observation rubric. Provide teachers feedback on observation rubric at least 1x/month.
• Track curriculum progress and send campus weekly PTG MTW update with glows and grows.
• Conduct BOY and EOY assessment on Mental Health competencies, school climate, safety, and sense of belonging. Review data and create action steps to address campus needs.
• 80% of Risk & Threat Assessments conducted have Safety Plan and/or a Re-entry Meetings documented in Case Management System following a crisis or critical incident.
• Ensures all responses to crises are documented in all required platforms within an appropriate amount of time (24-28 hours).
• Manages accurate data tracking of crises that arise on the campus across all systems (i.e., PurpleSense, Sentinnel, & campus filing system) by conducting audits of data periodically throughout the school year.
• Presents data to the monthly CCT meeting with updates and suggested revisions to safety & re-entry meetings (if applicable) for risk & threat assessments conducted in the past 30 days.
• Collaborates with the CCT Members to ensure Risk & Threat Assessment Checklist have been followed for each crisis with fidelity, even in the absence of the School Counselor.
• Ensures 100% of CCT Members are trained in Risk & Threat Assessment Protocols as evidenced by the CCT PowerApp and Training PowerBi.
• Creates Campus Crisis Binders with all necessary assessments, documents and supplemental material needed to carry out both risk & threat assessments completely and conduct a walkthrough with CCT members to ensure a thorough understanding of each document and how to use it appropriately.

Benefits

• Salaries typically fall between 54,987 and 78,385, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity.
• Eligible for a performance bonus based on team performance and goal attainment.
• Comprehensive benefits plan, covering the majority of the employee premium for the base medical plan and subsidizing the majority of costs for a spouse/domestic partner and children.
• Paid Family Leave: Eligible staff may receive up to 8 weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, based on their tenure with the organization and caregiver designation.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Staff members may apply for up to 50% of tuition paid toward a qualifying degree program, up to $5,250 maximum per year subject to manager discretion and budget availability.
• Employer-Paid Mental/Behavioral Health: 5 face-to-face counseling sessions within a year, unlimited 24/7 telephonic counseling, and other work-life services available at no cost.
• Dental and vision plans
• Disability
• Life insurance
• Parenting benefits
• Flexible spending account options
• Generous vacation time
• Referral bonuses
• Professional development
• 403(b) plan
• Relocation allowance may be offered

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level