School Counselor

Description

The K–8 School Counselor at Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences (DAAS) supports scholars' academic success, social-emotional development, attendance, behavior, and overall well-being. The counselor provides individual and group counseling, classroom guidance, crisis support, and college and career readiness programming. Working closely with school leaders, staff, families, and student-support teams, the counselor helps identify barriers to success, coordinate interventions, and ensure scholars have the support and skills needed to thrive at DAAS and successfully transition to high school.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in a school counselor education program
• Possesses either a current, valid School Counselor License (SCL) issued by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) or Michigan Teaching Certificate with the School Counselor (NT) endorsement, OR Meets criteria for a Preliminary School Counselor License (PSCL) as required by MDE
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Strong organizational skills

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive K–8 school counseling program that supports scholars' academic achievement, social-emotional development, attendance, behavior, and college and career readiness.
• Provide individual and small-group counseling and targeted interventions for scholars experiencing academic, behavioral, social-emotional, attendance, peer, family, or school-adjustment concerns, referring to outside services when needs exceed the scope of school counseling.
• Deliver classroom guidance lessons, workshops, and schoolwide programming focused on self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, conflict resolution, coping strategies, bullying prevention, goal setting, and academic success.
• Serve as an active member of the MTSS, School Culture, and Attendance Teams, helping identify scholar needs, develop and monitor interventions, address chronic absenteeism, and strengthen school climate and student engagement.
• Use academic, attendance, behavior, referral, and school climate data to identify trends, prioritize counseling services, monitor scholar progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
• Provide crisis intervention and student safety support, including response to emotional distress, grief, trauma, bullying, threats to safety, suspected abuse or neglect, and other urgent concerns in accordance with district protocols and mandated reporting requirements.
• Collaborate with teachers, administrators, special education staff, social workers, psychologists, families, and community providers to address barriers to learning and coordinate appropriate supports for scholars.
• Partner with families and caregivers to address scholar needs, strengthen school-family relationships, provide resources, and connect families with appropriate community, mental health, and social service supports.
• Develop and coordinate K–8 college and career readiness programming, including career exploration, goal setting, academic planning, and targeted high school transition and selection support for middle school scholars.
• Maintain accurate and confidential counseling records, referrals, intervention documentation, family contacts, and program data in accordance with professional ethical standards and applicable state and federal requirements.
• Participate in IEP, Section 504, MTSS, attendance, behavior, re-entry, and other student-support meetings when counseling expertise or knowledge of the scholar is relevant.
• Maintain ongoing professional development and compliance with Michigan and federal laws, State Board of Education requirements, DAAS policies and procedures, professional school counseling standards, and other duties consistent with the role.

Physical Requirements

Light Work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds of force as frequently as needed to move objects; frequent standing, stooping, bending, pushing and pulling.

Terms of Employment

• Full-time, benefits eligible
• Salary depending on experience
• Length of the work year and hours of employment shall be those established by the District

Evaluation

Performance of this job will be evaluated by the School Principal in accordance with provisions of the Board’s policy on evaluation of personnel.