What are the responsibilities and job description for the Elementary School Counselor position at Decatur Public Schools?
- Holds a valid Illinois Professional Educator License
- Holds a certificate as a guidance counselor or- Holds a type 73 certificate
- Master's Degree or higher education
- Ability to function effectively as a member of the school staff
- Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:
- Ability to relate well with young children
- Be a good listener and able to communicate with children
- Compassionate and understanding of the difficulties that elementary school aged children experience
- Able and willing to handle crisis situations, including reporting suspicions of child abuse
- Respect and demonstrate confidentiality
- Good organizational skills, detailed oriented, and ability to prioritize tasks effectively and efficiently.
- Ability to understand and follow basic oral and written instructions.
- Good written and communication skills.
- Ability to communicate to students, parents, staff, and administration in a courteous manner.
- Provide individual and small group counseling
- Instill problem-solving and conflict resolution skills
- Consult/Collaborate with other staff members to help children
- Educate students about self-awareness and self-esteem
- Teach goal setting and decision-making skills
- Introduce career awareness, exploration and planning
- Develop and maintain the Individual Career Exploration Plan for each student. (6th - 8th grade)
- Connect students/teachers/families to community agency support
- Serve as a liaison between schools, families and community agencies
- Document student performance and progress toward meeting established goals and objectives or benchmarks
- Provide counseling service to students as indicated on IEPs, 504 plans, or after following the counseling referral process for any student needing counseling services
- Conduct student group activities as deemed appropriate by counselor in collaboration with principal
- Collaborate with social workers and administrators to determine needs of students
- Stay current with education reform and challenges facing today's students
- Maintain and submit accurate and timely records/reports as required
- Work with individual teachers to assist with SEL situations that will help improve the teacher's effectiveness in working with elementary students.
- Be available, when possible, for student conferences.
PURPOSE: To help elementary students adjust to the many changing aspects of adolescence, and work to maximize student success by promoting access and equity for all students.
QUALIFICATIONS:
QUALIFICATIONS:
REPORTS TO:
The Principal or Designee
MAINTAINS LIAISON WITH:
Parents, Staff, Administration, and Middle School Counselors and/or designee. Communicates on a regular basis or as requested by parents, staff, and/or administration.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
(The following are the essential fundamentals to include but not limited to the following job duties.)
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT:
Wages, hours, terms, and conditions of employment pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement.
EVALUATION:
Each employee shall be evaluated according to the District's guidelines, policies, and procedures in accordance with the DEA contract.
The physical demands, work environment factors, and mental functions described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individual with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to handle work which deals mostly with people, objects, and equipment in a general setting. The employee may be required to use repetitive hand motions, including prolonged use of a computer terminal. The employee is frequently required to sit, see, talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, bend, stoop, and kneel. The employee may be required to lift up to 20 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus with or without correction.
The employee must recognize differences in sound, such as voices/noises that are loud and playful instead of angry and combative. The employee must have the ability to differentiate tones and volumes in conversation. The employee should hear in the normal audio range with or without correction.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
MENTAL FUNCTIONS:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly is required to compare, analyze, communicate, coordinate, compile, instruct, synthesize, evaluate, use interpersonal skills, negotiate, and maintain emotional control under stress. The employee frequently is required to compute. The employee occasionally is required to copy.
The foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills that may be required.
Decatur Public Schools is an equal employment opportunity employer with an affirmative action plan.
This position falls under the Decatur Education Association (DEA) Contract - 2022-2026.
The Salary Schedule is attached above. Benefit information can be found HERE.