Description
Position at IDEA Public Schools

About IDEA Public Schools :  

 

At IDEA Public Schools, we believe in college for ALL and we are committed to ensuring that   all   our students graduate from college. IDEA Public Schools has grown from a small school to the fastest-growing network of tuition-free Pre-K-12 public charter schools in the United States sending 100% of our students to college. 50% of our students graduate from college in 6 years - that's 8 times the national rate for students in our communities!  

 
IDEA was founded in 2000 as a single school with 150 students in the Rio Grande Valley. When interest exceeded building capacity, to meet the demands, IDEA's co-founders committed to serving more students in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and beyond. We now serve  over 65,000  students across Texas and Louisiana. Be on the lookout for IDEA schools opening near you-with continued growth in our current regions an d new launches in  Tampa Bay , FL  (2021) ,  and  Jacksonville, FL (2022) !  

 

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.  

 

To learn more about IDEA, check out this   video .  

About the Rio Grande Valley:

 

Since 2000, IDEA Public Schools has grown from a school of 150 students in Donna, TX, to the fastest- growing family of tuition-free, public charter schools in the United States. In the Rio Grande Valley, we are a nucleus of four counties (Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy Counties) that work as one unit to support our children academically and holistically. 

 

RGV is home to a population of just over 1.3 million residents. Children across the region truly benefit from IDEA's mission of college for all, as only 1 out of 17 students currently graduate college ready. Our mission holds true as we have over 5,000 IDEA alumni that currently attend, or have graduated from, 300 colleges and universities across the country.  

 

Join our passionate team of changemakers in south Texas as we prepare to expand our home region to 55 schools, serving over 38,000 students in 2022. 

Role Mission:  The role of School Counselor supports our vision of 100% of students to and through college by leading the work of family engagement, student social emotional learning, and counseling/critical incident/crisis services. Our key tenets of family engagement are implemented through the role of the Certified School Counselor to ensure all staff are building authentic relationships with students and families, there is open two-way communication between the school and family, and a school culture is created with a common mission to foster student growth and development.  

When the work is lead effectively, the entire school staff is inspired and supported to engage with students and parents in a meaningful way to ensure all students have the academic and social skills they need to achieve their goal of going to and through college.  

 

Responsibilities:    

•   Collaborate with school leaders and teachers to reach school goals   
• Coordinate all standardized testing and district-wide assessments   
• Empowering students to build emotional intelligence   
• Identify and proactively work with truant and other at-risk students Identify students at risk of leaving IDEA and lead prevention strategies Facilitate family involvement   

 
Accountabilities:  

90% 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
• Owns the data accuracy and reporting of the campus persistence data. Ensures all data for student persistence is entered correctly and is audited regularly in partnership with the campus SIS. Ensure all staff members know the persistence data and the reasons why students are leaving to allow the campus the chance to adjust and respond to trends identified.
• Partners with the grade level teams to help identify and coordinate interventions for at-risk students.
• Leads parent conversations and problem solves to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students and families. May bring in partner staff.
• Leads the recapture process to bring students that have left back to the campus to help fulfill our promise of  to  and through college.  
• Coaches and develops teachers to work with all students, even if the student is struggling behaviorally. Partners with the appropriate lead team/campus team members to support the staff and the student to work together to achieve goals.
• Recruits community agencies as a resource to meet student and school needs.
• Prepares and delivers guidance lessons to all students to develop life skills, promote good character, develop resilience, and emphasize the importance of higher education and goal setting.

 

90% New Student Persistence

• Leads the work of ensuring 100% of new students and families receive high quality on-boarding starting on day 1 of school in partnership with the Enrollment Specialist and APO on the campus
• Leads the planning of and execution of specific new student interactions to help students get acclimated to the campus culture and expectations in a way that is inviting and engaging
• 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
• 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 data accuracy and reporting through a close partnership with the SIS at the campus. Ensures all data for student persistence is entered correctly and is audited regularly. Ensure all staff members know the persistence data and the reasons why students are leaving to allow the campus the chance to adjust and respond to trends identified.

 

97.5% ADA

• Partners with the Operations team to increase and ensure all students are in school on time, every day. 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 visits if necessary.
• Leads the campus use of REMIND, this entails supporting the training and development of staff to use the app appropriately and consistently to engage with all parents. Proactive communications will be used to support the ADA goal using the mentioned tools.
• Creates,  distributes  and maintains the Parent Communication Flow Chart to help parents know who to contact for the most immediate, accurate response to a question or concern. Will train and hold staff accountable to following the campus process of communication  
• Leads the creation of and distribution of the school Parent Weekly.
• Leads communication on Facebook. Is responsible for consistent, at least one per week, posting of messages and events and responding to comments in a professional and timely manner
• Administers the mid-year survey to get feedback from parents on communication and events. Is responsible to analyze and create a strategic plan to respond to the parent input.

 

School receives a 4.5 rating on the TCP survey question "Adults at the school care about me"

• Conducts parent workshops, training, and general outreach to educate parents on the importance of positive environments and SEL and enhances parents' ability to support their children's success in coordination with other student support team members.
• Provides brief direct counseling individually or in group setting to at-risk students.
• Leads staff professional development related to self-care, trauma-informed practices, relevant developmental needs of students, and other SEL-related topics in coordination with other student support team members.
• Coordinates activities that foster bully prevention and social and emotional and academic well-being of all students.
• Leads campaigns on campus to promote a healthy community (ex. Red Ribbon Week, anti-bullying)
• Participates in the creation and feedback on the campus culture rubric. Supports the training and implementation of the campus culture rubric to foster a healthy, safe environment for students
• Organizes and leads culture walk-throughs to evaluate the effectiveness and alignment of adult and student culture to the school culture rubric. Provides feedback and coaching to team members based on ratings of the rubric, personal observations and interactions with staff and students
• Provides support through feedback, training, coaching, and developing teachers in working with students social/emotional needs in the classroom. • Manages the execution of the SEL survey 3 times per year to achieve at least 95% completion in all grade levels.
• Documents all interventions and crises/critical incidents in district-wide documentation system.

If no school social worker on campus: 

• Leads the implementation of the MTW curriculum for the school. Trains, observes, and coaches teachers to implement the program with fidelity. Pulls and reports data for lesson completion weekly to the lead team and campus wide.
• Conducts a needs assessment and evaluation of bullying, violence, and risky behavior.
• Leads and coordinates crisis response team on the campus to provide and ensure student or family social/emotional needs are being met.
• Connects student and families to community resources to get the support needed. Is the liaison between community support person and campus to share information to wrap services around the student.

 

5) 100% of assessments are administered with fidelity to the testing program and meet the threshold of 95% students tested. 

• Leads the creation of the campus testing plan as well as the communication and execution of all assessments at the campus.
• Responsible to work with special populations partners to ensure 100% of students have the correct accommodations and groupings to allow them to perform to the best of their ability
• Leads the training of all staff on the campus to maintain test security and fidelity to the testing programs being implemented
• Leads the assessment system management on the campus by providing training and support to staff to ensure thy have access to the assessment data needed to make data driven decisions.
• Manages all testing materials while remaining in compliance with test security rules and processes  
• Reports all testing irregularities to District Testing Coordinator and lead investigations at the campus

 
6) 50% of students receiving RTI supports will meet identified progress monitoring goals for behavior 

• Designated as the campus RTI point person and will manage the process across the campus
• Lead campus trainer on RTI process and positive behavioral supports in the classroom
• Gather pertinent data (academic and behavioral) on struggling students from teachers, parents, and support staff.
• Oversees data collection and progress monitoring at every tier
• Use data to help teachers implement Tier 1 behavioral interventions during whole and small group instruction
• Use data to help teachers identify and group students who need additional help using Tier 1 behavioral support interventions
• Support teachers in documenting student progress
• Organize and facilitate the Response to Intervention Committee on campus
• 100 % of students in the RTI process will be accurately entered into  eRTI  and reported to PEIMS  

 

Live values of IDEA

• Believes and is committed to our mission: that all students  are capable of getting  to and through college  
• Is driven by 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  
• 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  n order to  achieve outcomes Embodies IDEA's core values  

 

Qualifications:   

• Possess a Master's degree in School Counseling, Counseling, Social Work, or related field.
• Possess a Valid Texas School Counselor Certificate or current clinical license in the state of Texas (LMSW, LCSW, LPC-I, LPC, LMFT-A, or LMFT).

 

  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 isnon- negotiable   
• Ability to adjust and adapt to a multitude of situations in the school environment  

 

Compensation:   

• Salaries for this role typically fall between $57,141 and $68,569, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications.  This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational performance and goal attainment.  

IDEA Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability, in admission or access to, or treatment of employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries concerning the organization's compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), may contact IDEA Human Resources at (956) 377-8000.