Middle School Counselor

Background

Two Rivers Public Charter School serves a diverse group of learners across three locations in Wards 5 and 6. Staff at Two Rivers create an exciting educational environment in which students and staff become a community of learners on a journey of discovery. Two Rivers uses the EL Education model, emphasizing interactive, hands-on, project-based learning. The school focuses on the whole child, recognizing the importance of character education and the social-emotional needs of children while helping them achieve academic excellence.

The Two Rivers staff shares a strong belief that all children can learn and be high achievers. The curriculum at Two Rivers is rigorous, and standards-based, and provides opportunities for students to excel in all areas. An integrated arts program and a content-based Spanish program augment the school’s demanding academic program. These elements come together through learning modules that allow students to incorporate and apply their classroom learning through real-world experiences. The mission of Two Rivers is to nurture a diverse group of students to become lifelong, active participants in their own education, develop a sense of self and community and become responsible and compassionate members of society.

The School Counselor supports students and their families to ensure positive social interactions and academic success. They are expected to collaborate with teachers, parents, administrators, and other school staff to create a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment for all students. The School Counselors identify concerns and trends at the individual, class, and school level, and work with the Director of Special Education to implement effective interventions and initiatives. This job description is meant to provide structure to the responsibilities and accountability of this position. There may be additional responsibilities that are undertaken or that are assigned as the needs of students and or the school arise. Counselors report to the Director of Mental Health.

This is a 10.5-month position which is exempt and therefore not eligible for overtime pay under

the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Responsibilities:

Consultation

• Provide recommendations to administration and staff on how to better meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of students.
• Provide recommendations to administration and staff on how to help families support students.
• Provide professional development for educators, service providers, and families around the social-emotional needs of students
• Collaborate with teachers, parents, and administration to find effective solutions for meeting learning and behavior needs.
• Participate in MTSS and IEP meetings with teaching teams.
• Provide information regarding community services available to students and families; make appropriate referrals for community resources.
• Meet regularly with the Director of Special Education to coordinate and plan for student needs.
• Coordinate with the school’s Homeless Liaison to ensure that students who are experiencing homelessness get their needs met and are connected to needed services.

Intervention

• Collaborate with the Director of Special Education to provide effective interventions for students.
• Provide evidence-based individual and group counseling to build students’ social-emotional skills, including problem-solving and self-regulation skills, and address the mental health needs of general education and special education students, as assigned and approved by the Director of Mental Health.
• Evaluate and create a profile of a student’s social, emotional, and behavioral patterns through skilled observations, checklists, histories, interviews, and functional assessments, to write and address targeted goals for social-emotional-behavioral support.
• Guide evidence-based intervention and present those results as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Develop Functional Behavior Assessments and guide the development of evidence-based Behavior Intervention Plans.
• Meet with families to help address their needs and the needs of their children.
• Act as the point of contact and liaison with social service and or community agencies providing services to students.
• Report any pertinent information to the proper authorities in cases of child endangerment, neglect, or abuse.
• Respond to mental health crises in tandem with colleagues and community personnel.
• Maintain accurate records of all services rendered to students and teacher requests for consultation.

Prevention

• Support and understand the Responsive Classroom and Expeditionary Learning models that our school implements.
• Implement and deliver programs and strategies to improve school climate, based on consultation, collaboration, and observation at all grade levels.
• Provide in-service training to faculty and parents as needed.
• Collaborate with school staff and community agencies to provide services to improve students' psychological and physical health.

Professional Responsibilities

• Participate in weekly professional development (scheduled for Wednesdays from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.) and contribute to sessions by sharing ideas, student data, and artifacts, offering feedback, and facilitating sessions or discussions, as needed.
• Participate in peer observation using protocols established and agreed upon by staff.
• Participate in August Orientation, based on the agreed-upon schedule.
• Seek out additional opportunities for professional development that will lead to achieving personal and school-wide professional development goals.
• Prepare for IEP meetings by drafting goals in collaboration with the Director of Special Education and assembling assessments and student work samples as documentation of progress.
• Ensure your teaching team is knowledgeable about the needs of students.
• Meet and plan regularly with teaching teams to ensure consistency of approach and programming.
• Meet with families as requested to share information about student progress.
• Contact families immediately when concerns arise about student performance, work completion, or behavior.
• Keep families informed about student progress through ongoing communication and regular updates.
• Support administration of DC-CAPE Assessment in the spring, as needed and approved by the Director of Mental Health.
• Two Rivers expects all full-time employees to work a 40-hour work week, in accordance with the hours outlined in their offer letters. School-based employees, including teachers, assistant teachers, counselors, and related service providers must be present at least 15 minutes prior to the arrival of students and must be present at least 15 minutes after the dismissal of students.
• Be on time for sessions, duties, planning sessions, team meetings, and professional development activities.
• Observe proper decorum, including adherence to dress codes and proper courtesies and respect in all dealings with students, parents, guardians, visitors, and fellow employees.
• Attend and participate in school events.
• Check voicemail and email daily and respond promptly to requests from parents, administrators, and colleagues.
• Assist with the monitoring of arrival, dismissal, recess, and lunch according to the agreed-upon schedule.
• Attend all Community Meetings and help to lead and facilitate, as needed and approved by the Director of Mental Health.
• Lead and facilitate school-wide events, as assigned by and approved by the principal and the Director of Mental Health.
• Report all suspicion of child abuse or neglect to the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) and a school administrator. See the Staff Handbook for additional information.
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications

Candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Master’s degree in a related mental health or counseling field; and
• DC Department of Health license to practice in the District of Columbia (LGPC or PGSW required, LPC or LICSW highly preferred).

Benefits

Two Rivers values its team of amazing educators. Teachers at Two Rivers receive:

• A competitive salary and benefits package
• The support of a welcoming and appreciative group of families
• A class of diverse students who are eager to learn and grateful for their school
• A team that values teachers and provides feedback, encouragement, and accountability
• Colleagues with varying backgrounds and experiences, from all walks of life, who care about their work, work hard and want to have a good time while they’re doing it.
• An administrative team that provides support for children with challenges
• Professional growth opportunities on-site and off-site
• Membership in a professional learning community that will challenge and excite eager educators—the staff’s work was featured in the book Data Wise in Action from Harvard University
• A strong, established school culture that supports academic and social learning
• A network of schools that is committed to diversity and inclusion and being an anti-racist organization.

Two Rivers is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate all applicants without unlawful consideration of race, religion, age, color, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.