Guidance Counselor - Framingham, United States - Framingham Public Schools

Description

Guidance Counselor School Year)

RAMINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CAMERON MIDDLE SCHOOL

TITLE:

Guidance Counselor

School Year

POSITION SUMMARY:

To provide services to address the social and emotional barriers to student achievement. And, to provide services to help develop age-appropriate skills and promote social, emotional and academic growth in children in the school setting, in order to deliver Framingham Public Schools' high expectations for achievement, equal access to high levels of instruction, the achievement of academic proficiency for all students, and the closing of the achievement gap among subgroups within the schools.

OUR MISSION:

Framingham Public Schools is committed to excellence for all students. Our mission statement guides our work: Through a comprehensive education, we aim to create and empower free-thinking, responsible citizens who can participate equally in our rich and diverse community. FPS and the community stand united in our core values: Providing a safe, inclusive, culturally responsive teaching and learning environment; Engaging antiracist and responsible civic advocates; Respecting diversity of thoughts, learners, culture, and community; Fostering learning and healthy growth of all students and staff; Ensuring every school will be an active, participatory, equitable community.

Diversity among teachers undoubtedly advances the academic achievement of students. Compliance obligations establish the baseline; as a district, Framingham Public Schools are committed to achieving, developing, and maintaining a workforce reflective of the rich racial, linguistic, and cultural diversity of our students. Framingham Public Schools aims to teach our children, and ourselves, to be culturally proficient and inclusive in order to live, learn, and work together in a vibrant and diverse world.

Indeed, Framingham Public Schools is committed to inspiring our school community to be accepting and willing to learn from individuals with differing backgrounds. Our goal is to reflect the diverse community we serve and create a great place to work for everyone by embracing the individual skills, perspectives, and experiences our people bring to the workplace and harnessing these for high performance and improved service delivery. We want our employees to feel included, valued, and respected and have access to equal opportunity, which supports full participation at work. Framingham Public Schools seeks to retain the diverse talent in our workforce and support our people to maintain a long and productive working career.

Framingham Public Schools is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications from persons with disabilities and who identify as BIPOC.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

A valid Massachusetts Teaching license in Guidance Counselor or Social Worker is required. Additional content area license is encouraged.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

Experience supporting students in the academic, social/emotional, and career domains is preferred.

SKILLS AND ABILITY:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty 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.

Ability to apply knowledge of current research and theory in the educational field; to communicate clearly and concisely both in oral and written form; to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups including staff, parents and the general public; to read, analyze and interpret professional periodicals and journals, technical procedures and governmental regulations; to write reports and correspondence, as needed; to use reasoning ability to evaluate information and determine/recommend an appropriate course of action; to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions; to use professional literature, evidence-based research, and continuing education content to make practice decision; to establish and maintain effective working relationships with students, parents, staff and the community; to work independently, prioritize tasks and manage several projects simultaneously; to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements, state and federal laws, and Framingham Public Schools policies (as long as the policies do not conflict with the Framingham Teachers Association (Unit A) Contract); to work with students of diverse backgrounds with diverse needs in an equitable and inclusive manner that bears to witness to cultural proficiency; to maintain appropriate confidential records; to react professionally and objectively to unpredictable situations (e.g. environmental changes, behavior/aggression, seizure activity, etc.); to operate and/or acquire skills to operate a computer and related software including but not limited to Google; and ability/willingness to plan, coordinate, conduct and participate in ongoing professional and staff development.

Experience evaluating student skills and writing reports to interpret/summarize findings. Strong collaborative, teaching, coaching and leadership skills to support student programming and work in a team setting. Strong problem-solving skills to support student success. Strong data-collection skills to help to inform decisions for students. Strong verbal and written communication skills. Strong organizational skills to balance the demands of a multi-tasking position. A proactive and solution-focused approach to meeting student needs. Knowledge of specialized content area as well as any related laws and procedures.

Ability to consistently collaborate with colleagues through shared planning and/or informal conversation to analyze student performance and development, and to plan appropriate interventions at the classroom or school level; and to regularly provide advice and expertise to general education teachers and the school community to support the creation of appropriate and effective academic, behavioral, and social/emotional learning experiences for students.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustration of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee, and is subject to change by the employer, as the needs of the employer and the requirements of the job change.

To provide strategies and preventative interventions for clinical issues related to all school-age children, including issues surrounding substance abuse, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, violence, health and changes in the family system.
Provide individual and/or group counseling as appropriate, utilizing knowledge of principles of therapeutic relationships, personal and systemic change, and use of self in a problem-solving relationship.
Provide crisis intervention, and serve as a member of the school's Crisis Team. Provide representation to the district-wide Crisis Task Force.
Attend/convene SCAN meetings as needed; file reports with the Department of Social Services when necessary. Serve as the school's liaison to the Department of Social Services.
Provide assessment and intervention in response to referrals from teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, students, families and community agencies. Identify problem behaviors and develop strategies for intervention. Refer students and families to outside treatment as necessary.
Provide consultation for faculty, administration and families.
Attend pre-referral and SET meetings to collaborate with the team on appropriate strategies to assist the referred students and their families.
Service as a member of Special Education Team Meetings. Meet with parents/guardians to complete a Social/Developmental History as needed for students to be evaluated.
Collaborate with the Bilingual/ESL/ELL Department to address the learning and emotional needs of students in the Bilingual program. Advocate for these students with guidance, administration, and educators. When possible, provide native language support and outreach for students and their families, as appropriate.
Serve as a liaison with Psychiatric Emergency Services, District juvenile court, and all outside treatment facilities, as appropriate.
Serve as in-building liaison/coordinator for McKinney-Vento students.
Convene re-entry meetings for students returning to school from a treatment facility to ease the transition back to an academic setting.
PHYSICAL WORKING CONDITIONS:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to move about and may be required to traverse occasionally throughout the school building. The employee must also often remain in a stationary position for considerable periods of time. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and sit, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee is expected to lift at least 20 lbs (i.e. books, school supplies, etc.). The employee must frequently use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and use hand strength to grasp tools. Occasionally s/he operates a computer and other office productivity machinery (i.e., a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer). The employee must be able to input information into a computer and as well as read material from a computer monitor as well as handwritten or printed matter with or without visual aids. The employee must be able to communicate effectively with students, parents, and other staff members in person and on the telephone. In the classroom, the employee must be able to see and hear on a continuous basis in order to ensure the safety of students as well as speak frequently to provide instruction. On rare occasions, it may be necessary to move quickly across even or uneven surfaces. The employee will be working in a normal school environment with an acceptable level of noise. The employee interacts with students, parents, and other staff members. The employee is directly responsible for the safety, well-being and work output of students.

REPORTS TO:

Building Principal. The performance of this job will be evaluated as per the Framingham Teachers Association (Unit A) Contract.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

None.

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) CLASSIFICATION:

This position is classified as Exempt (Professional).

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT:

Covered under Framingham Teachers Association (Unit A) Contract. Please note that the District reserves the right to transfer all personnel among buildings on an as needed basis to serve the best interests of all students as long as this does not conflict with the Framingham Teachers Association (Unit A) Contract.

Primary Location Cameron Middle School
Salary Range Per Unit A Contract - Not Negotiable / Per Year
Shift Type Full-Time

Framingham Public Schools seeks applicants from a broad range of backgrounds and we encourage you to apply here with Diversity in Ed to be seen by our teacher recruiters.

Meet with directly with Teacher Recruiters starting 4/8/24 - 4/13/24 at the Diversity in Ed Virtual Teacher Fair (Teacher Recruitment Week).