Employment

SCHOOL COUNSELOR

POSITION SUMMARY
Westmark School seeks a School Counselor to provide a comprehensive counseling program and serve a key role in creating and sustaining an atmosphere of emotional wellness among students. Reporting to the Head of School, the counselor utilizes collaboration, leadership and advocacy to promote students’ social, emotional and academic success.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, plan, implement, and participate in programming that fosters a culture of wellness with all students.
• Communicate the goals of the program to students, parents, faculty and staff, and maintains current and appropriate resources available for their use.
• Participate in regular professional development opportunities in order to stay updated on national trends and developments in providing support to children.

PREVENTATIVE AND RESPONSIVE SERVICES

• Provide short-term, solution-focused support through individual and group counseling; and when appropriate, assist families to arrange outside therapy and support services as needed and then coordinate with outside providers working with students.
• Consult and collaborate effectively with parents/guardians, teachers, administrators and other educational/community resources regarding students with identified concerns and needs.
• Implement an effective referral and follow-up process.
• Accurately and appropriately use assessment procedures for determining and structuring individual and group counseling services.

SYSTEM SUPPORT

• Meet regularly with the head of school, division directors and health coordinator to review the health and wellness of our student population and collaborate with educational staff to determine whether intervention strategies are effective.
• Provide appropriate information to staff related to the comprehensive school counseling program.
• Assist teachers, parents/guardians and other constituents in interpreting and understanding student data.
• Use available technology resources to enhance the school counseling program.
• Adhere to laws, policies, procedures, and ethical standards of the school counseling profession.
• Host workshops and presentations for parents and in-service programs for teachers and staff.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Conduct a yearly program audit to review extent of program implementation.
• Collect and analyze data to guide program direction and emphasis.
• Measure results of the school counseling program activities and shares results as appropriate.
• In conjunction with division directors, monitors student academic performance, behavior and attendance, and assists with appropriate interventions.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• The School Counselor should have the following types of experience, qualifications and characteristics:
• An advanced degree in School Counseling, Counseling, Social Work, School Psychology, Clinical Psychology, or Applied Psychology is required.
• Appropriate license, certification, and/or other documentation attesting to the candidate’s expertise in counseling is required;
• Experience working with a diverse student population;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with an ability to effectively communicate with all stakeholders of the school.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of
those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions for the job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the
essential functions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit
in on meetings and work on a computer for long periods of time; and is occasionally
required to walk, reach with hands and arms, balance, stoop, talk, and hear. The
employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Specific vision abilities
required by the job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

START DATE: Immediate

Interested applicants should submit electronically and as separate documents the following materials:

• Cover letter expressing interest in the School Counselor position
• Current resume
• List of five references with contact information, including email, to:

EMAIL: schoolcounselor@westmarkschool.org