Maya Angelou Public Charter High School is seeking a Clinical Counselor to fill a vacancy for the 2021-2022 school year. Maya Angelou Schools and See Forever Foundation operate three campuses serving students in 9^th through 12^th grade (high school diploma and/or GED).   We are accepting applications for our high school campus for this position.

The Clinical Counselor will serve as a member of the Clinical Services Department, which is dedicated to working collaboratively with all school personnel (teachers, administrators, support staff), to remove the barriers which prevent students from accessing instruction.  We believe that every student benefits from having dedicated professionals whose major responsibility is a students’ emotional growth and well-being. In order to reach this vision, the Maya Angelou Learning Center recognizes that incorporating mental health services as an integral part of the school program is critical to the success of our students.

Historically, the Maya Angelou Schools have served students who present with a host of risk factors and more than 80% of our students report that they have experienced significant trauma (i.e. being the victim of sexual trauma, having at least one parent who is incarcerated, having experienced the death of a close relative).  Additionally, many of our students come to us having been unsuccessful in traditional public high schools; have a history of truancy, and being disconnected from the school setting.  To that end, the Clinical Counselor will play an integral role in providing direct individual, group, and familial clinical intervention to MALC students.

Clinical Counselor will be held accountable for:

• Provide weekly behavioral support services (i.e. individual and group counseling) to all Exceptional Learners and general education students.
• Collaborate with the Managing Director of Clinical Services & Research to select and deliver targeted group counseling interventions.
• Assist the Managing Director of Clinical Services & Research in assessing clinical service gaps and establishing connections with external resources to effectively address these gaps.
• Ensure that all pre/post assessments (i.e. Resiliency Scales for Children & Adolescents) are administered timely.
• Provide crisis intervention and triage referrals to community support agencies as needed (i.e. substance abuse support and grief and loss counseling).
• Facilitate professional development and training opportunities for the greater school community about the impact of untreated trauma and positive outcomes of implementing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) within the school program.
• Collaborate with the discipline team and school administrators to provide support to students struggling to cope with the negative behavioral impact of external factors.
• Collaborate with the Managing Director of Clinical Services & Research to recruit, select, train, and supervise graduate mental health interns from local colleges and universities.
• Maintain a comprehensive file on all students which includes a copy of their counseling intake, parental consents, and academic progress reports.
• Adhere to the protocol for maintaining confidential clinical files and referral process to follow-up on secured data.
• Communicate with parents and/or guardians to engage them in improving the child’s attendance, behavioral, and academic performance.
• Assisting in the efforts to improve daily student in-seat attendance (i.e. conducting home visits and facilitating family conferences).
• Performing other duties as assigned by the Managing Director of Clinical Services & Research or Principal.

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrates uncompromising ethics and personal integrity by adhering to the highest standards of ethical behavior.
• Excellent documentation, organizational, and communication skills (both orally and written).
• Excellent clinical and case management skills.
• Prior direct service experience working truant and disconnected youth.
• Demonstrates team spirit, initiative, and a willingness to collaborate with all members of the school community.
• Ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively as a member of a multidisciplinary team.
• History of effectively assessing the psycho-educational needs of students and families.
• Holds oneself accountable, sets high expectations for self and others, and works both independently and collaboratively.
• Strong problem-solving and crisis intervention skills.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field is required (social work, mental health/community/rehabilitation counseling, or clinical/school/counseling psychology).  Independent license or license-eligible, mandatory.
• Experience providing telebehavioral health to students and families, as necessary.
• Experience with the basic concepts of positive youth development, clinical assessment, and strengths-based prevention/intervention theory and practice.
• Experience working in community-based mental health, family health/mental health, and or public school setting.
• Experience supervising graduate mental health interns (counseling, social work, or psychology) preferred.
• Must have strong skills documenting efforts and interventions.
• Must have a commitment to working from a strength-based and/or youth development perspective.
• Experience with providing teacher consultation and support