Counselor (2024-2025)

SUMMARY:

Plan, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive school counseling program at assigned campus. Counsel students to fully develop each student's academic, career, personal, and social abilities and address the needs of special population students. Deliver guidance curriculum in various group sizes. Educate students of skills necessary to address troublesome circumstances, support students in challenging situations, and assist students with needed resources to navigate crisis situations.

This position requires knowledge of the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programming. Services may include crisis intervention and guidance lesson development via indirect and direct services to students and families.

The essential functions, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the characteristic duties and responsibilities noted herein, however, this list represents examples only, and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by positions found in this job description.

• Model KISD core organizational beliefs and values; perform duties effectively and efficiently for the purpose of supporting and contributing to high student achievement.

• Provide program support and service delivery; communicate effectively within and across teams and participate in cross-functional work groups.

• Maintain a commitment to the District mission; model District expectations through personal leadership and actively support the efforts of others to achieve District goals.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Guidance Curriculum

• Plan, organize, implement, and deliver structured group lessons according to the district's guidance curriculum to improve students' interpersonal and intrapersonal effectiveness, personal health and safety, post-secondary planning and readiness, and other developmental needs.

• Teach the school guidance curriculum components through the use of effective instructional strategies and planned structured groups considering diverse student populations and needs for differentiated instruction.

• Work with students, staff, parents or guardians, and the community to identify priorities where students will be served through the guidance curriculum component. Collaborate across curricular areas to integrate guidance lessons into content area curriculum.

• Create a balanced curriculum by using well-planned and intentional activities and materials, incorporating guest speakers, and offering engaging delivery techniques, including technology tools.

Responsive Services

• Use accepted theories and effective techniques of developmental guidance to respond to problematic or critical incidents to support students and offer services in time of need.

• Use preventive activities to remove barriers that interfere with a student's educational, career, personal, and social development.

• Implement remediation practices to assist students in coping with problem situations or unwise choices. Identify precipitating and antecedent factors, effective and ineffective approaches to dealing with the circumstances, and provide feedback to guide future decisions.

• Use specialized skills to support students in crisis situations requiring immediate response. Maintain a healthy and safe school environment by collaborating with district staff, parents or guardians, and local officials.

• Provide continued support to students in need through individual counseling, small group counseling, consultation, or referral to services outside the school or district.

• Serve as an impartial, non-reporting resource for interpersonal conflicts and discourse involving two or more students, including accusations of bullying.

Individualized Planning

• Create school counseling services that are developmental and age appropriate and provide information or literature that highlights related topics to students, teachers, and administrators.

• Assist individual students and their parents or guardians in monitoring their academic, career, personal, and social development as they progress in school.

• Act as a student advocate, leader, collaborator, and systems change agent. Advocate for a school environment that acknowledges and respects diversity and ensures equitable access and placement in courses and programs for minority, disenfranchised, homeless, and other special populations.

• Interpret standardized test results, offer career development activities, provide strategies for grade level transitions, and guide students in individual goal setting and planning including creating and reviewing personal graduation plans and providing information about post-secondary opportunities.

System Support

• Collect, summarize, and interpret testing data to plan, create interventions, guide students, and address specific student needs.

• Conduct an annual program audit to inform accountability, action plans, time management, and systemic change.

• Participate in campus-based school improvement planning and goal setting.

• Provide parent or guardian and staff training and consultation to foster student educational, career, personal, and social development.

• Clearly articulate and communicate the counseling program's management system and related program action plans to campus and district staff, parents or guardians, and the community.

• Participate in staff development and continuing education opportunities to improve job-related skills and research to identify best practices in implementing a comprehensive school counseling program.

Policy, Reports, and Law

• Comply with policies established by federal and state law, State Board of Education rule, and board policy. Comply with all District and campus routines and regulations

• Adhere to legal, ethical, and professional standards for school counselors including current professional standards of competence and practice.

• Model an effective referral process for assisting identified students and others to use special programs and services.

• Maintain and submit accurate, timely documentation of program and service activities including monthly reports, surveys, needs assessments, action plans, and other required documentation for program efficacy data.

• Maintain confidentiality.

• Develop and maintain systems for retrieval of information in support of all programs; compile, maintain, file, and secure all physical and computerized reports, records, and other required documents.

• Comply with all policies, operating procedures, legal requirements, and verbal and written directives.

• Comply with the Professional Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators.

• Follow District safety protocols and emergency procedures.

• Perform other related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education/Certification:

• Master's Degree in Counseling from an accredited college or university

• Valid Texas School Counselor Certificate

Experience:

• Two (2) years of successful educational experience

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of counseling procedures, student appraisal, and career development

• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills

• Ability to instruct students and manage their behavior

• Ability to present information in one-on-one, small group, and large group situations to students, parents or guardians, and district staff

• Skill in communicating effectively with parents, students, staff, and community.

• Skill in analyzing complex information

• Skill in making oral and written presentations

• Knowledge of community-based organizations to help students' access appropriate services outside the school setting.

• Strong organizational, communication, teambuilding, and interpersonal skills

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• None

MENTAL/PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:

Tools/Equipment Used:

• Standard office equipment including personal computer and peripherals

Posture:

• Prolonged sitting; frequent standing; kneeling/squatting, occasional bending/stooping, pushing/pulling, and twisting

Motion:

• Frequent walking; Repetitive hand motions, frequent keyboarding and use of mouse; occasional reaching

Lifting:

• Occasional light lifting and carrying (less than 15 pounds)

Environment:

• Work to be completed on-site from assigned school or building; regular exposure to noise and computer monitors

• No remote work

• Frequent district wide travel; occasional statewide travel

Mental Demands:

• Work with frequent interruptions; maintain emotional control under stress work; prolonged or irregular hours

• Includes information from the Counselor Job Description and Evaluation Form distributed by the Texas Education Agency.

INTENT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

This description is intended to indicate the kinds of tasks and levels of work difficulty required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as declaring what the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position shall be. It is not intended to limit, or any way modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct and control the work of employees under supervision. The use of a particular expression or illustration describing duties shall not be held to exclude other duties not mentioned that are of similar kind or level of difficulty.