School Counselor - K-5 (Elementary)

K-5 Guidance Counselor
Job Description Position: K-5

FLSA Status:  Exempt

Reports to: Lower School Principal 
 

Purpose:  Guidance counselors promote student success, provide preventive services, and respond to identified student needs by implementing a comprehensive school counseling program that addresses academic, career, and personal/social development for all students.  

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Discusses the comprehensive school counseling program with the school administrator.
2. Develops and maintains a written plan for effective delivery of the school counseling program based on the NC Comprehensive School Counseling Standard Course of Study and current individual school data.
3. Communicates the goals of the comprehensive school counseling program to education stakeholders.
4. Maintains current and appropriate resources for education stakeholders.
5. Implements developmentally appropriate and prevention-oriented group activities to meet student needs and school goals.
6. Individual Student Planning
   1. Assists all students, individually or in groups, with developing academic, career and personal/social skills, goals and plans.
   2. Accurately and appropriately interprets and utilizes student data.
   3. Collaborates with parents/guardians and educators to assist students with educational and career planning.
7. Preventive and Responsive Services
   1. Provides individual and group counseling to students with identified concerns and needs.
   2. Consults and collaborates effectively with parents/guardians, teachers, administrators and other educational/community resources regarding students with identified concerns and needs.
   3. Implements an effective referral and follow-up process.
   4. Accurately and appropriately uses assessment procedures for determining and structuring individual and group counseling services.
8. System Support
   1. Provides appropriate information to staff related to the comprehensive school counseling program.
   2. Assists teachers, parents/guardians and other stakeholders in interpreting and understanding student data.
   3. Participates in professional development activities to improve knowledge and skills.
   4. Uses available technology resources to enhance the school counseling program.
   5. Adheres to laws, policies, procedures, and ethical standards of the school counseling profession.
9. Accountability
   1. Conducts a program audit to review the extent of program implementation annually.
   2. Analyzes and collects data to guide program direction and emphasis.
   3. Measures results of the school counseling programs/activities and shares results as appropriate.
   4. Monitors student academic performance, behavior and attendance and assists with appropriate interventions.

Additional Expectations:

1. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
2. Ability to reason, make judgments, and maintain effective working relationships with others.
3. Ability to utilize positive human relation skills with all staff.
4. Skills in keyboarding with accuracy at the necessary speed for the position.
5. Skills in operating a computer with word processing, spreadsheet, and desktop publishing applications.
6. Knowledge of office practices and procedures.
7. Ability to compile and summarize information.
8. Ability to resolve problem situations with sound judgment.
9. Ability to demonstrate proper telephone etiquette.
10. Ability to maintain confidentiality in matters relating to the school system.
11. Ability to exercise independent judgment and initiative in completing work assignments.
12. Knowledge of business letter writing memos.
13. Ability to compose correspondences independently.
14. Ability to work in the absence of supervision.
15. Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
16. Any other assigned duties.

Other Responsibilities:  Performs related work as required.  (NOTE:  The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.)

• Quarterly Assemblies
• Weekly Character lessons
• Intervention
• Weekly teacher meetings
• Field Trips
• Grown-up Talks

Desired Training and Hands-On experience

A valid North Carolina school counselor's license representing intensive course work in the principals and practices of educational counseling; educational testing and measurement; the organization and administration of guidance services; and the psychology of learning.       

1. Such alternatives to the above qualification as the Board may find appropriate and acceptable.           

Minimum Qualifications or Standards required to perform essential job functions:

Physical Requirements: Position requires exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 20 pounds of force as frequently as needed to move objects.

Interpersonal Communication: Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. This includes giving instructions, assignments or directions to parents, students, and staff.

Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or diagrammatic form.

Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow written and oral instructions. You must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in Standard English.

Numerical Aptitude: Requires the ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide.

Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate eyes and hands to use the keyboard.

Interpersonal Temperament: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. You must be adaptable top performing under minimal to moderate levels of stress.

Physical Communication: Requires the ability to talk, write and hear.

Assessment: Performance of this job will be assessed annually in accordance with provisions of the Board's policy on assessment of administrative personnel.

Terms of Employment: Salary and work year as established by the Board.