Middle School Counselor

Durham Charter School, previously known as Healthy Start Academy, is the oldest public charter school in North Carolina. We are currently located at 4621 Kemp Road serving about 1,250 students grades K-12.

Our Mission is to build a world-class school that empowers scholars to thrive in college, career, and life!

We are a tuition free, public Charter School, a Title 1 school, and offer 100% free breakfast and lunch to our students. We offer a structured learning environment, uniforms/dress code, and high quality curriculum and instruction. We offer bus transportation in the Durham area. We were a 2022 National ESEA Distinguished School, selected as semi-finalists for the 2023 YASS Prize and a recipient of the 2024 Charter School Growth Fund Seed Award. Check us out at https://www.durhamcharter.org/ and on instagram @durhamcharterschool.

Our school is led by a dynamic and proven leadership team. We look for driven individuals who seek to transform the school while preserving its history and connection to the Durham community. We believe that race, income, or zip code does not determine destiny, and we are seeking an individual who wants to be part of this unique opportunity.

The function of this position will be to serve as a counselor at Durham Charter School Middle School (grades 4-8)

• Develop and implement a values-based, culturally competent comprehensive counseling program that includes short-range as well as long-range goals, including individual/group multiyear plans.
• Assist with the development of a college going culture by facilitating such activities as college visits, career fairs, and guest speakers.
• Teach guidance curriculum
• Develop and coordinate a continuing evaluation of guidance program and make changes based on findings.
• Maintain confidentiality with student information (meetings and records), while adhering to confidentiality laws.
• Assist students in evaluating their values, interests and skills through the interpretation of results of career guidance lessons, individual standardized test scores and other pertinent data and work with students to develop and update academic and career plans.
• Work with teachers and other staff members to familiarize them with the general range of services offered by the guidance department and to improve the educational prospects of individual students being counseled.
• Work with faculty, staff, and family regarding student attitude, attendance, progress, and performance.
• Inform teachers and parents of special services available for students.
• Establish an effective working relationship with outside services and make appropriate referrals for services.
• Provide information and/or professional development to teachers, administrators, and other school staff.
• Keep abreast of current trends in counseling, guidance, student/school legal issues, dual enrollment.
• Record and monitor credit accrued toward fulfilling high school graduation requirements.
• Provide counseling that will lead each student to increased personal growth, self-understanding, and maturity.
• Assist students in dealing with family, interpersonal, and educational issues.
• Recognize overt indicators of student distress/abuse and take appropriate intervention, referral, actions.
• Provide crisis intervention services, including follow-up services as appropriate.
• Provide interventions for at-risk students and those with special learning and behavioral needs.
• Support school improvement initiatives by active participation in school activities, services, and programs.
• Performs other assigned duties as deemed necessary to fulfill the role of school counselor by the principal.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in counseling related field and two years of experience in guidance counseling and college access field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in counseling and 1 year of experience as Guidance Counselor and 2 years of experience as College Liaison in an early college high school or community college setting.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrate ability to work with students from diverse cultural, economic, and ability backgrounds.
• Evidence of strong interpersonal skills, organizational skills and effective oral and written communication/public relations skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
• Excellent classroom management skills.
• Ability to make presentations and large audiences.
• Ability to think creatively and put ideas into action.
• Ability to work with data to conduct program evaluation.
• Excellent computer skills as evidenced by experience with Microsoft Office and Google Classroom and other presentations tools.

Physical Job Requirements:

• The position involves responding to changing technology
• Extended periods of standing when teaching and sitting during meetings and desk work
• Repetitive motion keyboarding activities for classroom preparation or grading
• Extended periods of speaking and/or voice projection
• May lift equipment or supplies up to 25 lbs.

Mental Job Requirements:

The position requires:

• prioritizing work duties, organizing classroom settings, and taking the initiative to explore new activities and ideas to enhance student learning
• conflict resolution and the need to effectively present information to peers, students, parents, and colleagues.
• communicating unit/lesson objectives and content.
• Ability to respond to concerns or requests from parents and community members in a timely manner.

Working Conditions:

• Duties are generally performed in a typical classroom/school setting, which typically includes moderate noise from students, computers, and other work-related equipment.
• Work may also be performed where there are minimal environmental hazards and risks.
• Employees may be exposed occasionally to disagreeable conditions involving human/student/parental contact
• Work is occasionally performed outdoors in a variety of weather conditions
• Work may involve travel between buildings, within the building, and in the work area
• Work will occasionally require additional time in the evenings or non-school days for staff development training or attendance.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Contract

Work Location: In person