Classroom Counselor

About the role

Classroom Counselors are integrated into the school community where and provide healing-centered emotional and behavioral support services and promote academic growth. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with caregivers, teachers, and school leadership to ensure and celebrate the success of youth and families in a school setting.

About James Baldwin Academy

James Baldwin Academy (JBA) is a small, WASC-accredited school in the San Leandro hills, serving students in grades 5–12 with unique mental health and learning needs. With just four classrooms, we provide highly individualized academic and behavioral interventions to help students succeed both emotionally and academically. Our program goes beyond the classroom with engaging extracurriculars like gardening, skateboard club, and art club. At JBA, we live by the 3 C’s—Confidence, Compassion, and Community—and our mission drives everything we do: We grow in a humanizing and therapeutic learning environment, fueled by collaborative community and equity-driven education.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with teachers, therapists, and other specialists to deliver integrated support
• Build therapeutic relationships that help students engage and achieve personalized goals
• Support academic instruction by assisting with individual and group activities as directed
• Implement classroom modifications and accommodations based on student’s individualized education plans (IEP) and other plans
• Deliver direct behavioral intervention that reduces behaviors impeding school success and promotes positive behaviors for learning and community engagement
• Communicate effectively with families and all others involved in the students’ daily life, including other Seneca programs or external agencies
• Complete required data collection and service documentation to measure the effectiveness of services, inform team decision making, and/or engage in service billing
• Utilize crisis communication and de-escalation techniques as per Seneca's crisis response training
• This may include intervening with the students’ behavioral program through physical management of the student

Qualifications

• Education/Experience requirements:
  • Bachelor's degree OR
  • Associate degree and 1 year of applicable experience OR
  • High school diploma/GED and 2 years of applicable experience
• Applicable experience can include paid or unpaid experience working with youth or families, working in a classroom setting, working in a mental health setting, providing academic support to youth, or providing crisis support to youth
• At least 21 years of age
• Reliable transportation to and from the school site and other occasional meeting locations
• TB test clearance, fingerprinting clearance, and any other state/federal licensing or certification requirements

Pay

Starting at $27.01 - $29.51 per hour. Actual salary dependent on creditable experience above the minimum qualifications. Salary increases each year. Additional compensation provided upon passing a bilingual language proficiency exam.

Benefits

• Comprehensive employee benefits package:
  • Medical, dental, vision, chiropractic, acupuncture, and fertility coverage
  • Short and long-term disability, family leave, and life insurance
  • Partially paid premiums for dependants
  • 403b retirement plan
  • Employer-Paid Assistance Plan
• 5 weeks of paid time off, 11 paid holidays, and 14 paid school break days
• Seneca is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness certified employer
• Abundant promotional opportunities across California
• Specialized training and development opportunities