Middle School Counselor

General Description of Position

The Middle School (6th - 8th Grade) Counselor is responsible for programming that supports and promotes academic and social development of students in grades 6-8. This position requires wide exposure, experience, and proficiency in catering to the unique needs of the school and individual students.

Job Duties

• Respond to students’ academic and social/emotional needs through developmentally appropriate interventions.
• Assess student abilities, interests, and achievement to help them make decisions about their future and help guide them in planning for upper school.
• Communicate proactively and responsively with students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators via email, phone, video conference, and any other communication tools provided by LSS.
• Cultivate collaborative relationships with middle school teachers and advisors to establish wrap-around support for all students.
• Lead live monthly webinar sessions for students and guardians which focus on supporting students’ academic, career, and social/emotional development.
• Plan and implement group counseling opportunities to meet student needs as identified by data.
• Support individual student academic, social/emotional, and college/career needs through one-on-one meetings.
• Collaborate closely with the K-5 and College Counselors to aid in the development of a vertically aligned, comprehensive school counseling program, playing a critical role in the transition programming that supports the successful transition both to and beyond middle school.
• Support and encourage enrollment through active participation in virtual open houses and re-enrollment conversations.
• Create meaningful communications, such as newsletters, that focus on needs specific to the population of students on a regular basis.
• Participate collaboratively and professionally in school-wide meetings, events, communications and activities, both online and in person, with some required evening virtual events.
• Engage in ongoing professional development (internal and external), practice self-assessment, and strive for continuous improvement.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding students, families, and staff as well as LSS management and operations.
• Perform other counseling related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Master’s degree
• Active School Counseling certification and commitment to ongoing compliance with state and local regulations relating to background checks and credentials.
• 3+ years of experience counseling or working in a school setting supporting specifically middle school students.
• Experience with implementing group programs with measurable objectives.
• Excellent skills with word processing, productivity, communication, and educational technology tools; expertise with G-Suite, Learning Management Systems, and Student Information Systems strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical, interpretive, evaluative, and constructive thinking, and organizational skills
• Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.