Elementary School Counselor

General Responsibilities

Under the direction of the building principal, plans and provides for appropriate services for students. Provides leadership, advocacy, collaboration, and consultation with all school stakeholders. Provides an atmosphere and environment conducive to the intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of all students. Communicates and interacts with students, parents, staff, and community. Develops, selects, and modifies guidance lessons and materials to meet the needs of all students. Monitors appropriate use and care of equipment, materials, and facilities. Addresses students’ needs through prevention and intervention programs.

ESSENTIAL TASKS (for Each Grade Level)

The following duties are normal for this position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude other duties if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this position. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job description. Other duties may be required and assigned.

• Provides services to students in the areas of academic, personal/social, and career development.
• Counsels students individually and in small groups.
• Conducts classroom counseling activities.
• Exposes students to career exploration and interest inventories
• Prepares reports, records, lists, and all other required information and data.
• Encourages teacher/parent communication and community involvement.
• Assists students in conflict resolution/peer mediation.
• Manages crises.
• Assists in the identification of students with special needs.
• Refers students to intervention/remediation programs, as well as academic and alternative programs to ensure academic success and personal well-being.
• Interprets student records.
• Refers students to appropriate school personnel and community agencies.
• Participates in Child Study and 504 meetings, Response to Intervention (RTI) as designated.
• Participates in parent/teacher conferences.
• Serves as a resource for school personnel and parents.
• Maintains a variety of files/records and a departmental library of supplementary and reference materials.
• Follows required procedures and practices.
• Submits monthly time and task reports electronically, including accountability reports as requested.
• Attends division-wide counselor meetings.
• Participates in professional development activities.
• Develops and maintains an effective school counseling program consistent with the school’s mission and goals as mandated by School Board Policy and the Office of School Counseling Services, Student Records, and Roanoke City Public School Counseling Curriculum.
• Assists the building principal in developing and maintaining an effective educational program.
• Keeps the administration and the Director of School Counseling Services informed of any problems encountered.
• Explains and interprets division-wide policies, goals, and objectives to students, parents, and the community, which impact students’ academic achievement and the school counseling program.
• Maintains an active public relations program for the school’s counseling department.
• Plans, organizes, and directs implementation of all school counseling activities.
• Assists in the transitional academic program planning of rising sixth grade students.
• Provides in-services for instructional staff.
• Develops and implements Roanoke City Public School Counseling Pacing Guide.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

Knowledge of counseling theories and skills, group dynamics, and small group processes; extensive knowledge of K-12 child and multi-cultural development; demonstrates working knowledge of the ASCA Model; knowledge of K-12 instructional programs; knowledge of Virginia Standards of Learning; thorough knowledge of local, state, and federal standards; demonstrates considerable knowledge of FERPA, IDEA, McKinney-Vento Act, ESL, Roanoke City Public School Counseling Curriculum, and laws concerning student rights and confidentiality, as well as other state and federal mandates; thorough knowledge of standardized testing and procedures and interpretation of scores; working knowledge of gifted and special education programs; excellent oral and written communication and human relations skills; ability to work with administrators, colleagues, central office and school based staff, students, parents, and communities.

Education And Experience

Master’s Degree from an approved school counselor education program or a Virginia Postgraduate Professional teaching license with an endorsement as a School Counselor.

Physical Requirements

Performs professional work advising, assisting and counseling students. Work requires frequent standing, sitting, walking and light lifting up to 10 pounds. Effective verbal and written communication skills for expressing or exchanging ideas, hearing to perceive information at a normal spoken word level and visual acuity for preparing and analyzing written or computer data. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential tasks.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Primarily temperature controlled and clean office environment

RCPS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person(s) has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Hayley Poland – Title IX Coordinator (540) 853-1393.