Elementary School Counselor (Wexford & Berkeley Hills Campus)

Job Description

Job DescriptionDescription:

As the school counselor for the elementary schools, he or she will be responsible to provide spiritual, emotional, social, and academic support for students. This is a full-time position, Monday-Friday. The position will be split between Eden Christian Academy's two elementary campuses (Wexford and Berkeley Hills.)

The School Counselor will encourage students to cultivate a biblically framed identity as stewards of talents uniquely entrusted to each of them by God for engaging in his mission in this world. (Matthew 25:14-20) The counselor will help students develop essential life skills such as self-awareness, social awareness, relationships skills and decision-making. The School Counselor will utilize personal, family, and group interventions to advance academic and personal development.

Requirements:

• The School Counselor will provide the school community, parents, students, and teachers with an exemplary, ongoing professional student-counseling program
• Evaluate children in order to obtain the information necessary for planning and consultation to develop plans that help meet the functional and educational needs of each child served
• Partner with students, parents and staff to create proper academic goals for each child
• Partner with students, parents and staff in additional to any identified outside resources to create appropriate social, emotional, behavioral or academic goals
• Assist teachers and staff in maintaining an atmosphere that promotes growing and learning
• Prepare and update materials based on student goals and needs
• Help plan & implement new student orientations, ensure new students are adjusting well
• Effectively communicate with school administrators and other staff members regarding any issues that impact the performance of the students
• Provide mentoring and other intervention models (group or individual) to children and their families as needed
• Assist teachers with behavior management strategies.
• Provide staff with essential information to better understand affecting a student's performance and behavior.
• Train school staff on social and emotional topics, like bullying, suicide prevention, and trauma-informed approaches to education
• Respond to and manage crises or emergencies affecting students. Collaborate with school staff and external resources to provide immediate support
• Assist in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies, implementing educational programs, including programs on safety and bullying.
• Assist parents in accessing and utilizing school and community resources
• Contact the Children Youth and Families Services as a mandatory reporter
• Refer to outside counseling resources when necessary, act as triage and support, not as primary counseling support

SEAS - Social Emotional Academic Support

• Helps all students manage emotions and apply interpersonal skills
• Helps all students apply academic achievement strategies that will assist all students with their SEAS
• Helps all students in goal setting related to SEAS
• Provides short term counseling to all students
• Collaborates with families/teachers/ administrators/community for student success in SEAS

Qualifications

• Have a mature relationship with Jesus Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior and be active in an evangelical church.
• Be a Christ-like model for students in attitude, speech, and actions toward others (Luke 6:40)
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills
• Ability to work effectively on a multi-treatment team, generate leadership for the faculty and students
• Be supportive of the school's mission and doctrinal statements.
• Understand and support career stewardship philosophy and seek to view the features of the school counseling ministry in that context.
• Proficient in numerous clinical interventions
• Knowledge of and ability to access community resources
• Basic personal computer skills (Gmail, Word, Excel).
• Understanding of the philosophy of Christian Education
• Provide acceptable PA DOE employment clearances dated within one year: FBI Fingerprint/ Act 114 Federal Criminal Background Check (Identogo Service Code 1KG6TR), Act 151 State Child Abuse Background Report, and Act 34 PA State Police Background Clearance.
• Education: Master's degree required in education, counseling, psychology, social work, or related field
• License Optional: A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
• Secure an ACSI School Counseling certification
• Fulfill continuing education requirements to maintain the ACSI certification

Physical Requirements to Fulfill the Essential Functions of this Job

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times.
• Move about classrooms and hallways and supervise students.
• Physically accompany students in the hallways or in other places in the buildings as the students move from one location to another location on the premises.
• Have sufficient vision to allow for active supervision and interaction with students.
• Have the ability to quickly summon help when an emergency arises either in the classroom, gymnasium or on the field.
• Climb the stairs to reach the classrooms/offices on higher floors at all campuses.

Compensation

• Salary commensurate with qualifications.
• Benefits for FT 10 month employees include individual medical and vision insurance, life & disability insurance, 403b with 58.3% employee match (caps and vesting restrictions apply), 75% tuition remission, 2 personal days per school year, accruing sick days per handbook guidelines