Guidance Counselor - Secondary

NORTH SMITHFIELD SCHOOL DEPARTMENT JOB DESCRIPTION TITLE:Guidance Counselor QUALIFICATIONS:

• At least three years of successful teaching experience
• A valid R. I. Certificate as a Guidance Counselor
• A master’s degree, or its equivalent, representing intensive course work in the principles and practice of educational guidance; educational testing and measurement; counseling; the organization and administration of guidance services; and the psychology of learning
• Such alternatives to the above qualifications as the Board may find appropriate and acceptable

REPORTS TO: Building Principal/Assistant Principal TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT: Salary and other conditions to be set by the School Committee per contractual agreement EVALUATION: Evaluation annually in accordance with provisions of the School Committee Policy on Evaluation JOB GOAL: To help students overcome problems that impede learning and to assist them in making educational, occupational, and life plans that hold promise for their personal fulfillment as mature and responsible men and women. RHODE ISLAND PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS:

1. Standard 1: Teachers create learning experiences using a broad base of general knowledge that reflects an understanding of the nature of the communities and world in which we live.
2. Standard 2: Teachers have a deep content knowledge base sufficient to create learning experiences that reflect an understanding of central concepts, vocabulary, structures, and tools of inquiry of the disciplines/content areas they teach.
3. Standard 3: Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect an understanding of how children learn and develop.
4. Standard 4: Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect a respect for the diversity of learners and an understanding of how students differ in their approaches to learning.
5. Standard 5: Teachers create instructional opportunities to encourage all students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, performance skills, and literacy across content areas.
6. Standard 6: Teachers create a supportive learning environment that encourages appropriate standards of behavior, positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
7. Standard 7: Teachers work collaboratively with all school personnel, families, and the broader community to create a professional learning community and environment that supports the improvement of teaching, learning, and student achievement.
8. Standard 8: Teachers use effective communication as the vehicle through which students explore, conjecture, discuss, and investigate new ideas.
9. Standard 9: Teachers use appropriate formal and informal assessment strategies with individuals and groups of students to determine the impact of instruction on learning, to provide feedback, and to plan future instruction.
10. Standard 10: Teachers reflect on their practice and assume responsibility for their own professional development by actively seeking and participating in opportunities to learn and grow as professionals.
11. Standard 11: Teachers maintain professional standards guided by legal and ethical principles.

RHODE ISLAND EDUCATOR CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: Set of commitments which guide professional conduct in all situations with professional and ethical implications. The Code embraces the fundamental belief that the student is the foremost reason for the existence of the profession.

1. Responsibility to Students: Rhode Island Educators’ first commitment is to ensuring that all students achieve at the high levels needed to lead fulfilling and productive lives, to succeed in academic and employment settings, and to contribute to society.
2. Responsibility to Self: Rhode Island Educators are committed to establishing high professional standards for their practice and striving to meet these standards through their individual performance.
3. Responsibility to Colleagues and the Profession: Rhode Island Educators are committed to work with school and district colleagues and as members of professional communities to establish and implement initiatives that will further student learning.
4. Responsibility to Parents and the Community: Rhode Island Educators are committed to collaborate with families and communities to offer a quality education to all students.
5. Responsibility to Rhode Island Board of Regents: Rhode Island Educators demonstrate a commitment to Rhode Island standards for educator quality through certification requirements and support for the implementation of state initiatives within their districts.

It is the responsibility of the educator to comply with The Rhode Island Right to Read Act requiring educators to exhibit either proficiency in or awareness of the knowledge and practices of th eScience of Reading and Structured Literacy. PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Registers students new to the school and orients them to school procedures and the school’s varied opportunities for learning.
2. Aids assigned students in course and subject selection.
3. Maintains student records and protects their confidentiality.
4. Works to resolve students’ educational handicaps.
5. Works to discover and develop special abilities of students.
6. Works to prevent students from dropping out of school.
7. Provides student information to colleges and potential employers according to provisions of the Board’s policy on student records.
8. Plans guidance field trips to schools, colleges, and industry for interested students.
9. Makes recommendations to colleges for admissions and scholarships.
10. Arranges for tutors and summer school work.
11. Guides students in their participation in school and community activities.
12. Obtains and disseminates occupational information to students and to classes studying occupations.
13. Help students evaluate career interests and choices.
14. Organizes and conducts “Career Day.”
15. Works with students on an individual basis in the solution of personal problems related to such problems as home and family relations, health, and emotional adjustment.
16. Confers with parents whenever necessary.
17. Interprets the guidance program to the community.
18. Provides in-service training in guidance for teachers and student teachers.
19. Advises administrators and faculty on the matters of student discipline.
20. Assists in the orientation of new faculty members.
21. Assumes other responsibilities as may be assigned by the Building Principal or Superintendent.