School Counselor (Elementary) - Virginia Department of Education

FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: School Principal and Coordinator of Student Services

Supervises: None

Employment Terms: 11-Month Full-time Position (220 Contracted Days)

Grade: Teacher Scale

Position Summary

Position is responsible for assisting students, school personnel and parents with relevant educational and personal/social goals. To help students achieve personal fulfillment by providing them with guidance and counseling services to make successful personal, educational and occupational life plans. Develops and implements effective programs for all students while functioning as a member of a school’s multidisciplinary team. Work is performed under the limited supervision of the School Principal and Coordinator of Student Services.

Qualification Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Functions

1. Provide counseling for students with an understanding of legal and ethical considerations, and professional issues and standards.
2. Assists in the research and evaluation aimed at improving school guidance and counseling programs.
3. Utilize the understanding of the skills and processes related to the school counseling program at all school levels including characteristics of learners, program planning, coordination, consultation, and staffing patterns.
4. Helps students evaluate career interests and choices.
5. Aids and counsels students in course and subject selection.
6. Obtains and disseminates occupational information to students and to classes studying occupations.
7. Assists students in evaluating their aptitudes and abilities through the interpretation of individual standardized test scores and other pertinent data, and works with students in designing education and occupation plans in terms of such evaluation.
8. Works to discover and develop special abilities of students.
9. Works to resolve students’ educational handicaps.
10. Registers students new to the school and orients them to school procedures and the school’s varied opportunities for learning.
11. Works to prevent students from dropping out of school.
12. Remains readily available to students so as to provide counseling that will lead each student to increase personal growth, self-understanding, and maturity.
13. Works with students on an individual basis in the solution of personal problems related to such problems as home and family relations, health, and emotional adjustment.
14. Guides students in their participation in school and community activities.
15. Maintains student records and protects their confidentiality.
16. Supervises the preparation and processing of college, scholarship, and employment applications.
17. Makes recommendations to colleges for admissions and scholarships.
18. Provides student information to colleges and potential employers according to provisions of the Board’s policy on student records.
19. Confer with teachers, parents, and students in reference to students’ needs or concerns.
20. Provides in-service training in guidance for teachers and student teachers.
21. Works with teachers and other staff members to familiarize them with the general range of services offered by the student personnel services department, and to improve the educational prospects of individual students being counseled.
22. Takes an active ole interpreting the school’s objectives to students, parents and the community at large.
23. Assists in creating master schedule for the school.
24. Coordinates the standardized testing program and assists with interpretation/disaggregation of test data for the school.
25. Coordinates efforts among teachers, students, and parents to promote academic performance/prevent student retention.
26. Serves as a member of the School Crisis Management Team.
27. Attend staff meetings and serves on staff committees as required.
28. Assume other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

1. Thorough knowledge of the practices, methods and techniques used in the administration and supervision of all facets of assigned school.
2. Thorough knowledge of prescribed School Board policies and procedures.
3. Skill in the use of personal computers and related software packages, hardware and peripheral equipment to communicate, document and report, as well as, assists with filing of those documents/communications.
4. Must have the ability and prevent ability to report to work on a regular and punctual basis.
5. Must possess effective written and oral communication skills.
6. Competency in understanding the principles and theories of human growth and development throughout the lifespan, social and cultural foundations of education and their implications for school guidance and counseling programs.
7. Skilled in the processes for counseling students for academic, career, and personal/social development in an individual and group setting.
8. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, the School Board, elected officials, parents, students and the general public.

Qualifications, Education and Experience

1. Master’s degree from an approved counselor education program that included 100 clock hours or clinical experiences in both pre-K-6 and grades 7-12 settings, and
2. Two years of successful, full-time teaching experience or two years of successful experience in guidance and counseling; or
3. Master’s degree from an accredited college or university and certification from an approved counselor education program, and
4. Two years of successful, full-time teaching experience or two years of successful, full-time experience in guidance and counseling.
5. Such alternatives to the above qualifications as the School Board may find appropriate and acceptable.

Physical Requirements

1. This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force.
2. Work regularly requires speaking or hearing and using hands to finger, handle or feel, frequently requires standing, walking, sitting, reaching with hands and arms and repetitive motions and occasionally requires pushing or pulling.
3. Work has standard vision requirements.
4. Vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly.
5. Hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications and/or to make fine distinctions in sound.
6. Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data and observing general surroundings and activities.
7. Must be mobile enough to monitor students in all instructional settings (in school and on school grounds).
8. Work occasionally requires exposure to outdoor weather conditions and exposure to bloodborne pathogens and may be required to wear specialized personal protective equipment.
9. Work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).

Special Requirements

1. Possession of or ability to acquire appropriate license(s), certificate(s) and/or endorsement(s) for the position as required by the Commonwealth of Virginia or School Board.
2. Valid driver's license in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 
   1. Driving record will be subject to periodic review and must be acceptable in accordance with the provisions of the Dinwiddie County School Boards policy manual.  
3. All candidates must successfully undergo the following pre-employment screenings:
   1. Tuberculosis Screening/Test
   2. Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigation
   3. State Police Criminal History Investigation
   4. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)/National Criminal History Investigative Search

Evaluation

Performance of this position will be evaluated in accordance with the provisions of the Dinwiddie County School Board’s policy manual.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Dinwiddie County Public Schools does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status.  

We will recruit and select applicants for employment solely on the basis of their qualifications. Our guidelines and practices, including those relating to wages, benefits, transfers, promotions, terminations and self-development opportunities, will also be administered without regard to race, color, religion, sex/sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, age, marital status, genetic information, national origin, ancestry, political affiliation, disability, protected veteran status and all other classes protected by the Federal and State Law. Dinwiddie County Public Schools is a Drug & Alcohol Free Workplace.

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