Job Description:

Under the supervision of the Head of School, the School Counselor works closely with the Ratner Montessori students, staff and parents to provide educational, social, behavioral and personal counseling to students enrolled in grades PK-8. The counselor will assist students, parents and faculty in solving problems and facilitating student learning. The counselor will work to develop and implement school-wide, grade level, group and individual behavior support programs in grades PK-8. This is a 0.75 fte school-year position. The counselor will also be required to be present for two weeks prior to the beginning of and two weeks after the close of the school year.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Ability to administer psychological diagnostic tests; comprehensive, insightful diagnostic skills as needed
• Ability to interpret a variety of informal and formal special education assessments
•  Specific approaches and tools to help students, teachers and families better deal with behaviors which interfere with the learning process
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of child development
• Applied Behavior Analysis training a plus, and experience in writing behavior management plans
• Identify students in need of social/emotional support in consultation with teachers, parents and administration
• Provide direct social/emotional support to identified students, as well as groups of students
• Collaborate with teachers and administrators to implement social and emotional curriculum and strategies to support all students
• Facilitate communication between families, allied professionals, and the school to effectively support students’ social/emotional well-being
• Conduct classroom observations of identified students
• Recommend effective classroom strategies for supporting respectful and responsible student behavior
• Provide developmentally appropriate support for in-class education: including stress and anxiety management; issues related to bullying; concerns in use of social media; transition and coping skills; conflict resolution and mediation; and social skills in problem solving
• Perform crisis intervention as needed
• Collaborate with the intervention support staff to create and maintain a list of outside social/emotional resources and referrals, and assist parents with navigating outside social/emotional referrals
• Serve as a case manager to prioritize needs within a student’s profile bridging outside support and school staff
• Collaborate with the Ratner Support TEAM to develop parent education resources and provide programming for families in the areas of typical child development and/or specific needs