School Counselor - IDEA Montopolis Academy (Immediate Opening)

Role Mission: Students and families are the most important stakeholders at IDEA Public Schools. The role of School Counselor leads the campus family engagement vision, social emotional learning program, and coordination of mental health and counseling supports for all scholars on the campus.

Our key tenets of family engagement, social emotional learning, and student social emotional supports are implemented through the role of the School Counselor to ensure all staff are building authentic relationships with students and families. Data maintenance and analysis is an integral component of effective school-based intervention implementation. SCs own the validity and accuracy of their goals to drive campus strategies and tactics. Family engagement and student success is the job of all campus team members. The School Counselor will direct and hold all campus team members accountable to fulfill their role.

When the work is lead effectively, the entire school staff is clear on their roles in supporting students and families, has the data needed to drive action, inspired, and supported to engage with students and parents in a meaningful way which would result in meeting the goal for all students to have the academic and social skills they need to achieve their goal of going to and through college. Through this work, School Counselors ensure our schools are a place where students feel safe physically and emotionally safe and therefore can learn, grow, and succeed in and outside of the classroom.

What We Offer

Compensation: 

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $72,785 and $84,431, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on team performance and goal attainment.

Other Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive benefits plan, covering the majority of the employee premium for the base medical plan and subsidizing the majority of costs for a spouse/domestic partner and children. Some of the special benefits we offer at IDEA include:

• Paid Family Leave: Eligible staff may receive up to 8 weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, based on their tenure with the organization and caregiver designation.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Staff members may apply for up to​ 50% of tuition paid toward a qualifying degree program, up to $5,250 maximum per year subject to manager discretion and budget availability.
• Employer-Paid Mental/Behavioral Health: 5 face-to-face counseling sessions within a year, unlimited 24/7 telephonic counseling, and other work-life services available at no cost.

Other benefits include dental and vision plans, disability, life insurance, parenting benefits, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, referral bonuses, professional development, and a 403(b) plan. IDEA may offer a relocation allowance to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable.

What You Bring -- Competencies

Qualifications:

• Education: Master's degree in School Counseling, Counseling, Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, or related field
• Experience: Previous experience in a school or school setting
• License or Certification: Valid TX School Counselor certification or counseling licensure (LMSW, LCSW, LCSW-S, LPC-A, LPC, LMFT-A, LMFT) required

Knowledge and Skills:

• Proven track record of success 
• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills 
• Ability to manage student behavior 
• Belief in and alignment with IDEA’s mission and values is non-negotiable 
• Ability to adjust and adapt to a multitude of situations in the school environment

What You’ll Do -- Accountabilities

90% Student Persistence

• Leads the execution of the school vision for retaining all students at the school by directing and managing all stakeholders at the campus in their roles and responsibilities in family engagement and student persistence.
• Provides individual/group counseling for at-risk students and refers students who need intense or specialized services campus-based Licensed Mental Health Provider and/or outside agencies.
• Leads the planning of and execution of student and family engagement events that are aligned to the school’s culture, community and family needs and promotes the authentic relationship building between the school and the family.
• Leads BOY Professional Development for entire campus to clarify the roles every staff member plays in family engagement.
• Manages the campus overall student persistence data to ensure 100% of data accuracy and reporting through close partnership with the PEIMS team on campus. Notify all stakeholders who own the persistence goal of the data and rationale as to why students are leaving to identify and analyze trends. Data management includes At-Risk Coding, Potential Leavers and Dropouts and Leaver Coding for withdrawals.
• Partners with the grade level teams to help identify and coordinate intervention for at-risk students with responsibility and accountability structures for Grade Level Admin, API’s, GTLs and Teachers.
• Leads parent conversations and problem solves to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students and families in collaboration with campus lead team.
• Coaches and develops teachers to work with all students and families. Partners with the appropriate lead team/campus team members to support the staff and the student to work together to achieve goals.
• Maintain knowledge of community agencies as a resource to meet student and school needs.
• Directs implementation of state mandated guidance lessons to all students to develop life skills, promote good character, and develop resilience.
• Provides support through feedback, training, coaching, and developing teachers in working with students social/emotional needs in the classroom.
• Member of the crisis response team on the campus to provide and ensure student social/emotional needs are being met
• Conducts individual and group check-ins and advising meetings with students to address social-emotional issues and provide campus-based supports.
• Leads family communications platforms: Remind, Smore (Weekly Parent Newsletter), and Facebook

• Administers 2 parent survey: 1 in the Spring and 1 in the Fall to get feedback from parents on communication and events. Is responsible to analyze and create a strategic plan to respond to the parent input.
• Administer 1 student survey in the Spring to get feedback from our scholars with the IDEA experience.

90% New Student Persistence

• Partners with Enrollment Specialist and APO on the campus to ensure 100% of new student and families receive high quality on-boarding starting on day 1 of school.
• Directs and manages through influence all campus team members to their role in family engagement to retain new students from year to year.
• Lead the planning and execution of specific new parent events to welcome the new parents to the campus and helps them integrate and get acclimated to the campus culture and expectations with campus lead team.
• Leads the parent conversations and addresses concerns of our newest families to ensure they are heard, and the campus is responsive
• Partners with the APO to ensure all new student on-boarding is completed and operational support is given at all new student and new parent events
• Owns the campus new student persistence to ensure 100% of data accuracy and reporting through close partnership with the PEIMS team on campus. Notify all stakeholders who own the persistence goal of the data and rationale as to why students are leaving to identify and analyze trends.
• Conducts individual and group check-ins and advising sessions with new students to build community and sense of belonging.

97.5% Average Daily Attendance (ADA)

• Partners with the Operations team to increase and ensure all students are in school on time, every day through proactive communication and motivation with families.
• In accordance with the ADA escalation matrix, the counselor is activated when a student is absent 7 or more times to plan for interventions and support of student and family.
• Identifies barriers to attendance and support in connecting the family with community resources or hosts in school sessions to support ADA for the student.
• Conducts home visit for students that are absent 7 or more times.
• Owns the management of the student being placed on the Mission List for chronic absenteeism

90% of assigned teachers use MTW curriculum with fidelity (as defined by students interact with video program 3 days a week)

• Lead teacher and campus training on Move This World curriculum and implementation expectations.
• Identify and utilize best practice strategies to invest and create a culture of excitement around the integration of an SEL curriculum in the daily schedule.
• Conduct regular rotating observations of Move This World blocks using observation rubric. Provide teachers feedback on observation rubric at least 1x/month. 
• Track curriculum progress and send campus weekly PTG MTW update with glows and grows.
• Conduct BOY and EOY assessment on SEL competencies, school climate, safety, and sense of belonging. Review data and create action steps to address campus needs.

Campus earns an “A” on School Counselor Report Card

• Collaborates with key stakeholders to meet district expectations for successful implementation of district family engagement and social emotional learning priorities
• Facilitates 4 Family Engagement Events (1 per quarter)
• Meets parent and student completion expectations in Fall and Spring survey administrations
• Facilitates bullying prevention month and mental health awareness month activities
• Campus crisis team meets regularly and submits crisis data on time

We look for Team and Family who embody the following values and characteristics: 

• Believes and is committed to our mission and being an agent of change: that all students are capable of getting to and through college  
• Has demonstrated effective outcomes and results, and wants to be held accountable for them 
• Has a propensity for action, willing to make mistakes by doing in order to learn and improve quickly 
• Works with urgency and purpose to drive student outcomes 
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, high-growth environment; is comfortable with ambiguity and change 
• Seeks and responds well to feedback, which is shared often and freely across all levels of the organization 
• Works through silos and forges strong cross-departmental relationships in order to achieve outcomes 
• We believe in education as a profession and hold ourselves to high level of conduct, professionalism and behaviors as models for our colleagues and students 

About IDEA Public Schools 

At IDEA Public Schools, we believe each and every child can go to college. Since 2000, IDEA Public Schools has grown from a small school with 150 students to a multi-state network of tuition-free, Pre-K-12 public charter schools.   

IDEA Public Schools boasts national rankings on The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report’s top high schools lists. IDEA serves over 80,000 college-bound students in 143 schools across Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, and is on-track to maintain its legacy of sending 100% of its graduates to college.    

When you choose to work at IDEA, you are part of our IDEA Team and Family. You will work alongside team members who set and reach ambitious goals every day, are excited to continue to grow with IDEA, and work relentlessly to make college for all a reality.

Staff Culture and Belonging

At IDEA the Staff Culture and Belonging Team uses our Core Values to promote human connection and a culture of integrity, respect, and belonging for all Team and Family members.  Learn more about our Commitment to Core Values here!

To Apply

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