Attendance Counselor School Year 2026-2027 (NBOE)

Duties And Responsibilities

• Conducts a needs assessment of the school's previous year's attendance and establishes a school attendance improvement plan.
• Generates a daily attendance summary report of absences and tardiness and responds immediately with the most appropriate course of action.
• Conducts investigations and deliver legal notices to students' homes.
• Enforces individual students' corrective action to improve attendance and punctuality.
• Appraises the principal and the Office of Attendance of any trends or extreme cases of absenteeism.
• Engages families by visiting homes, making phone calls, or using other forms of communications to make affirmative contact with families and determine reason for absence.
• Serves on the Truancy Task Force whose duties involve: patrolling neighborhoods of Newark with the Newark Police Department in order to transport truant students to the Task Force location; transporting students from Truancy Task Force location to the school where the student is registered; completing and delivering paperwork to school's Main Office for follow up.
• Prepares social case histories with clear and accurate data containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Collaborates with various district leads to ensure homeless and displaced students are receiving district supports.
• Collects data for legal action and, when required, appears in court.
• Investigates and gathers various information for special studies.
• Administers school census.
• May supervise the movement of students to and from the school bus.
• Participates in the following: Perfect Attendance Initiatives, Attendance Poster Contest, Truancy Task Force, and Parent Conference days.

Education

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• Applicants who do not possess the required education may substitute experience in teaching, guidance counseling, or social work or experience in the collection and investigation of information regarding school absences on a year for year basis with thirty (30) semester hour credits being equal to one (1) year of experience.

Skills

• Knowledge of techniques used to conduct investigations.
• Knowledge of methods likely to be successful in promoting student attendance at school.
• Knowledge of techniques used to deal with hostile individuals.
• Ability to read and interpret laws, rules, and regulations of the Board of Education, relative to school attendance, and to apply them to specific situations.
• Ability to conduct investigations.
• Ability to enforce remedial actions permitted by the Board of Education.
• Ability to gather information and prepare social case histories.
• Ability to prepare reports.
• Ability to establish and maintain records and files.
• Ability to utilize various types of electronic recording and information systems used in the District, office, or related units.
• Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position.

Qualifications

• Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform the essential functions of the job after reasonable accommodation is made to their known limitations.

Benefits

• Medical and Prescription Drug plans.
• Employer-paid Dental and Vision coverage.
• An array of Wellness and Voluntary benefits programs.
• Paid time off; all employees receive paid Personal and Sick days, as well as Vacation days for 12-month employees.

Pay

• $60,115 - $78,189

Schedule

• Ten (10) Months

Union Affiliation

• Newark Teachers Union (NTU)