The School Counselor works as a staff member of the Student Services / Academic Team and is primarily responsible for providing therapeutic services to students and their families. This position reports to the Dean of Student Culture.

Expectations and Required Skills

• Deep expertise and familiarity with the literature and practices related to social-emotional learning, adaptive and growth mindsets, positive behavioral interventions, character development, trauma-informed care, strength-based approaches, and psychological development
• Commitment and ability to serve all students with diverse backgrounds, abilities and needs toward accomplishing their educational goals.
• Demonstrates professional integrity and a commitment to best practices for communicating with students, staff, and families
• A minimum of one (1) year of prior experience working in an urban school or similar setting with at-risk students and their families
• Bachelor’s Degree and licensure in the field of mental health or Louisiana certified school counselor.
• Strong communication, collaboration, feedback and facilitation skills
• Willingness to work after-school and weekend hours when necessary

Preferred Qualifications and Educational Requirements

• Experience with Medicaid reimbursement
• Working familiarity with student assessment tools, especially in evaluating and interpreting standardized test results.
• Proficiency in written and oral French
• Master’s Degree and licensure in the field of mental health as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), or Louisiana certified school counselor.

Role and Responsibilities

The duties of the School Counselor include, but are not limited to, the following tasks:

Service Integration and Delivery

• Supporting School leadership team with administrative duties.
• Collaborating with the school leadership team on such issues as attendance, confidentiality, diversity, equity and inclusion, mental health, behavior management, crisis intervention and child abuse and neglect.
• Understanding of the reciprocal influences of home, school, and community to intervene for student success.
• Providing services to students in ways that build upon individual strengths and offer students opportunities to participate in their own learning experience.
• Developing short and long-term intervention plans consistent with school curriculum and culture; students’ needs, strengths, diversity and life experiences, and social and emotional factors.
• Conducting outreach, particularly home visits, and promoting collaboration among community providers that have diverse offerings and facilitate student and family access to services.
• Connecting families with a variety of social service resources, behavioral health services and resources through referrals and case management, wherever appropriate.
• Providing on-going counseling services and activities to the school community through small group sessions, individual sessions, school-wide or classroom setting activities, as well as workshops for parents and guardians.
• Adminstering services and monitoring progress for students who receive counselor interventions through intervention plans, RTI plans, and/or IEPs.
• Providing encouragement, guidance and resources to staff and students when needed.
• Working with and assisting school leaders, teachers, staff, students and families with the implementation and infusion of Restorative Practices, Social Emotional Learning, PBIS, and Trauma-informed care throughout the school community.
• Serving as a member of the Student Assistance Team (SAT), Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team, PBIS team, and truancy committee.
• Providing crisis intervention when needed.

Program Development, Implementation, and Evaluation

• Conducting individual and/or system-wide assessments and surveys to assess the school and/or community needs.
• Developing and providing professional development workshops that educate faculty on relevant issues, such as suicide and bullying prevention and mandated reporting training.
• Providing classroom sessions on topics related to social/emotional needs of students.
• Establishing and maintaining an anti-bullying campaign.

• Assessment
• Conducting psychological/behavioral assessments in accordance with parent/guardian and student rights.
• Using student, family, and school assessments to effectively and appropriately identify needs that impact student learning and develop appropriate interventions.
• Using a variety of appropriate tools and techniques to evaluate progress of students and families.
• Assisting students and their parents with assessment data interpretation.

• Accountability
• Conforming to the National Association of Social Work (NASW) Code of Ethics and Standards for School Social Work Practice.
• Maintaining accurate case records and documentation.
• Maintaining current knowledge of and abiding by federal and state laws and regulations with emphasis on persons with disabilities, mental health, confidentiality, and student and parent rights.

Job descriptions are created to provide a framework of responsibilities and are not inclusive of all duties that may be required. LFNO employees embody an “all hands on deck” mentality and do whatever it takes to get the job done regardless of title.