Mt Pleasant Community School District

Mental Health Specialist, Therapeutic Classrooms

Job Title: Mental Health Specialist

Department: Therapeutic Classroom

Reports to: Director of Special Education

Consideration will be given to current employees interested in taking on these responsibilities in addition to their current role, with additional compensation.

Job Overview

A mental health specialist for Mount Pleasant Community Schools will be a member of a multidisciplinary team who collaborates to support the design, implementation, and decision-making regarding services for students with mental health needs. A mental health specialist will serve throughout the district's continuum of therapeutic support to meet the social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health (SEBMH) needs of children.

Job Functions

• Work cooperatively and in coordination with children, their families, instructional leaders, teachers, other school staff, and local agencies to promote self-awareness and self-control, along with the development of productive social-emotional competencies and necessary coping strategies;
• Provide individual and group skill-based instruction and/or counseling for children to address specific social emotional and mental health needs;
• Utilize evidence-based and culturally-responsive best practices when working with children, educators, and families;
• Provides support and leadership for adult social-emotional professional development;
• Collaborate with staff and families to help increase their understanding and participation in appropriate efforts to help alleviate barriers to children's social, emotional, and mental well-being. Work with families to create a partnership to empower their children to make healthy choices, along with creating and maintaining a safe home environment;
• Provide support to the family for child related needs (i.e., family training, community-based supports for basic needs, make needed referrals for additional community resources, if needed, etc.) for difficulties interfering with the child's academic progress, social, emotional, or mental health development;
• Able to assess, screen, observe, interview students and families to understand child's mental health needs and create a plan to address them;
• Project a positive image of social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health within school to children/youth, families, and to the community;
• Engage in ongoing professional learning to maintain current knowledge of SEBMH;
• Participate in staff meetings and IEP meetings to address children and family mental health challenges;
• Demonstrate cultural competency and behaviors consistent with the core values, vision and mission of Mount Pleasant Community Schools; and
• Regular, predictable, consistent attendance is essential; and
• Maintain appropriate levels of confidentiality.

Confidential Information

This position has access to highly confidential information so a background check is required.

Education, Experience and Knowledge

Required:

• Master's Degree in Counseling, Social Work, School Psychology, or closely related field.
• License or statement of professional recognition with the BOEE
• Knowledge of school-based mental health supports (including such things as: social-emotional learning, functional behavior assessment, behavior intervention planning, trauma-sensitive practices, culturally-responsive practices, crisis response, cognitive-based and problem-solving oriented therapeutic support, etc.).
• Knowledge of mental health assessments and data-based decision-making methods for formative and progress monitoring of SEBMH as well as effective and efficient methods of ongoing program evaluation.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with all stakeholders
• Proficient technical documentation skills and strong written, verbal, analytical and interpersonal skills.
• Intellectually curious and self-motivated with keen attention to detail.

Preferred:

• Minimum of five years of professional experience in a mental health and/or educational setting.