The Phelps School, a Grade 6-12 boarding and day school located in Malvern, Pennsylvania and enrolling 100 students, has an exciting employment opportunity for a full-time Middle School/Upper School Counselor. The School Counselor will report to the Head of School and will develop a comprehensive school counseling program that focuses on the social-emotional wellness of middle school and upper school students.
The Counselor will collaborate with administration, faculty, staff, and parents with identification and intervention of student’s social/emotional needs; serve as a resource for teachers and administrators in developing action plans for students needing support; provide leadership for the coordination of wellness programs; and ensure that each student has access to the school counseling program which advocates for all students in diverse cultural groups.
Responsibilities:
Implement a comprehensive school counseling program that promotes student well being, provides preventative services, and responds to student emotional, psychological, academic, and social needs.
Collaborate with admin, faculty, staff, and parents with identification and intervention of student’s social/emotional needs.
Serve as a resource for teachers and administrators, developing action plans for students needing support, and broadly assisting the faculty's efforts to best serve students and to advance school-wide programming.
Advise students in making good decisions around social challenges, managing emotions, and applying interpersonal skills.
Provide assistance to individuals or/or groups of students during times of stress, transition, and change.
Ensure that students, families, and faculty members know the counselor is available to provide students effective and helpful emotional, psychological, and social support.
Curate creative digital resources for students, parents and teachers.
Instruct classes in mental wellness and social emotional learning. This includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.
Ensure that families of students with emotional and other needs are well-counseled and, when appropriate, connected with external expertise.
Practice culturally sensitive advising and counseling.
Ensure that all students’ rights are respected and all students’ needs are met.
Execute student risk assessments based on best professional practices, and use data to identify student issues, needs, and challenges.
Develop strong relationships with external health professionals to ensure that students are connected with external resources when needed or appropriate, including referrals for long term support.
Interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume, and list of three references electronically to employment@thephelpsschool.org.
Preferred candidates for this position will hold a Master’s degree in School Counseling; Fulfill state certification and licensure standards; Have a minimum of five years of relevant experience providing counseling to both middle school and upper school students, grades 6-12, within an independent school setting.
