Position Type:
Counselor/Counselor: 6-8

Date Posted:
7/30/2018

Location:
CLARK MIDDLE SCHOOL

Date Available:
08/15/2018

Bargaining Unit: AEA
Work Year: 182 Days per year, 12 contract payments
Work Day: 8 hours per day
FTE: Full time, 1.0 FTE

Job Summary
The Counselor 6–8 requires a valid Alaska type C certificate and is represented by the Anchorage Education Association (AEA) union. The number of work days is established and salary is based upon the AEA negotiated pay scale. Information on both can be found online at www.asdk12.org/contractadmin. This position may have a flexible work calendar which may include duty days during summer, winter or spring breaks, with equivalent time off during the regular school year as mutually agreed upon by the employee and supervisor. Positions which are .50 to 1.0 FTE are in the Alaska Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), positions which are .40 to .49 FTE are in the Alaska Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS). Positions which are .39 FTE or less are not eligible for participation in either Alaska retirement system.

This position reports to and is evaluated by the site principal. School counselors work as a team with school staff, parents and the community to create a caring climate and atmosphere through a comprehensive developmental school counseling program. By providing education, prevention, early identification and intervention, school counselors can help all children achieve academic success.

Job Requirements
The following are required:

• Valid Alaska type C special services certificate with endorsement as a school counselor or guidance and counseling.
  • Type C social work/counseling psychology endorsements with two years of school counseling experience will be considered in lieu of the above requirement.
  Counseling/school based internship with school age children.

The following are preferred:

• Experience in providing behavioral and academic interventions with youth.Middle school guidance counseling experience.

Essential Job Functions
The responsibilities listed below are representative of the essential functions of this position. The successful candidate:

• Schedules students into appropriate academic course placements.Utilizes appropriate counseling techniques to accommodate a variety of functioning levels.Provides career and educational counseling.Acts as a student advocate.Implements the prevention guidance curriculum through delivery of classroom lessons and infusion in content areas.Supports and reinforces the key role of the classroom teacher.Serves as a consultant to staff and parents.Counsels individuals and small groups toward social and emotional resiliency.Consults with parents and other family member on individual student needs.Acts as a liaison among school staff, parents and public or private agencies.Conducts parent group meetings and workshops.Provides in-service training to all staff to assist them with planning and implementing interventions for adolescents in order to maximize the developmental benefits in all students.Devises and implements appropriate counseling techniques to accommodate a variety of functioning levels.Is accessible to all students for career, educational, and personal counseling.Consults with staff to increase students' awareness of the relationship between school and work.Participates in counseling and guidance program development, maintenance, evaluation and enhancement.Consults with school staff concerning early identification, remediation and the use of an effective referral process for assisting students and other in using special programs and services.Assumes a leadership role in promoting a positive school climate.Pursues continuous professional growth.Assists with the intake and exit process as a member of the team, as necessary.Assists with establishing positive behavior plans.Consults with and provides parenting training as needed to all parents of transitioning students to further ensure student success.Assists with completion and collection of all data needed for program evaluation.

Physical /Mental Demands
The physical demands of this job require frequent standing, walking, sitting, speaking and hearing. Specific visual abilities are also required. The employee is regularly required to reach with his/her hands and arms and occasionally lift items weighing less than 40 lbs. Additionally, the employee must be able to understand vague and implicit instructions, be able to readily recall facts and details, handle conflict and make effective decisions under pressure. The employee must have the ability to effectively manage the stress of working with students, parents, and other employees representing diverse cultures, personalities, and work styles in a dynamic work environment.

The Anchorage School District is committed to providing reasonable accommodations, according to applicable state and federal laws, to all individuals with a qualified physical or mental disability.

Work Environment
Work is performed in a professional environment with a wide variety of individuals having differing functions, personalities and abilities, including working with diverse groups of people in a variety of different settings.

While performing the duties of this job the employee may be regularly exposed to a video display. The employee may be exposed to outdoor weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Additional Job Information
This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job related duties as requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments.

Anchorage School District (ASD) employees must possess the ability to read and write in English. This also includes the ability to communicate in English with school staff, co-workers, and the public; as well as have the ability to comprehend and carry out oral and written directions and understand and follow English instructions and written documents.

Offers of employment are contingent upon completion of a satisfactory criminal background check in addition to the background check conducted through the certification process with the Alaska State Department of Education and Early Development (DEED).

This position may be required to work in ASD facilities on the military installations (JBER). Please visit https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-enforcement-brief for additional information.

The Anchorage School District is an equal employment opportunity employer.