Position:  School Counselor

Location: Florence Sawyer School

Pay:         In accordance with CBA scale

Hours:     32.5 hours per week

The Nashoba Regional School District inspires and challenges all learners to realize their unique potential and become active contributors to their community.

Nashoba’s core values remain constant, provide the foundation for our work, and influence how we conduct ourselves and engage with others.  Our core values are academic achievement and personal growth; voice, choice and agency; lifelong learning; a safe, caring and inclusive community; collaborative partnerships; innovation; and a sense of belonging.

The School Counselors are employed without regard to age, physical, mental or psychiatric disability, genetics, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, or military status.

NRSD welcomes employees with diverse racial, cultural, religious, class, and/or gender background and experiences.

Organizational Scope:

Reporting directly to the Building Principal, and through a lens of equity, and as appropriate for the grade level of students, the School Counselor is mindful to integrate social emotional learning and culturally responsive awareness into their work.    

The School Counselor delivers service related to guidance and counseling, including post-graduation planning, academic advising, student support systems and social-emotional counseling.  

Position Responsibilities:

Responsibilities vary depending on level (Early Childhood, Elementary, but will include some or all of the following:

• Provides individual and small-group counseling to students whose concerns or behaviors interfere with school life;
• Remains readily available to students to provide counseling that will lead to increased personal  growth, self-understanding and maturity;
• Works with students on an individual basis in the solution of personal problems related to home and family relations, health and emotional adjustments;
• Guides students in their participation in school and community activities;
• Maintains appropriate student records and protects their confidentiality;
• Makes referrals to parents for in-school or community based counseling services as needed;
• Communicates with parents, including during conferences, regarding student issues and concerns;
• Supports teachers in meeting the needs of the diverse student population within their classrooms;
• Assists students in course selections;
• Serves as a resource in supporting students for academic advising, social-emotional counseling,  by helping students evaluate career interests and choices, and on post-graduation planning;   
• May serve on the building-based Teacher Assistance Team;
• Participates in transition planning for students entering elementary, middle, or high school;Develops recommendations for students pursuing college acceptance;  Supervises the preparation and processing of college, scholarship, and employment applications;
• Provides equal education opportunity to all individuals regardless of race, color, gender, age, marital status, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability; 
• Engage in collaborative efforts to collect and analyze a variety of classroom-level quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide targeted instruction and monitor and support student progress toward instructional goals within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS);
• Manages the 504 process for the building, including coordinating meetings, developing and maintaining the plans, and ensuring compliance with legal requirements and district policies.
• Collaborates with teachers, parents, and stakeholders to implement 504 plans, distributes completed plans to relevant staff, and ensures understanding of specified accommodations across all educational settings.
• Collaborates with IEP teams, as needed.
• The omission of specific duties here does not exclude them from the position’s responsibilities if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

Job Qualifications

Massachusetts DESE licensure as School Counselor (formerly Guidance Counselor) at the level appropriate to the assignment.  

Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.   

Demonstrated interpersonal skills and the ability to relate well with students,  staff, administration, parents and the community.  

Must be able to assist in the protection of students and school property, and assist in fire and other emergencies or emergency drills as required by law and School Committee policy. 

The ability to work onsite in district schools and buildings is an essential function of this job.

Physical Demands:

Much of the work is performed seated in a typical classroom or office environment requiring minimal to light physical effort.  This may include everyday discomforts and distractions typical of a school setting, such as proximity to students and colleagues, temperature variations, frequent interruptions and moderate noise. This position may require the ability to operate a computer keyboard and standard office equipment.

Physical demands may vary in keeping with the assignment and age of the students, but the position generally requires the ability to walk and stand on tile flooring, to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds, and to bend and twist regularly at the waist, knees and neck. 

Terms of Employment, Evaluation of Performance, and Salary:

The School Counselor is a Nashoba Regional School District Unit A position.  Terms of employment, including evaluation and salary, are covered by the provisions of the Unit A collective bargaining agreement currently in effect.