School Counselor

Prince William County Public Schools' Mission Statement:

• We serve as trusted partners in education with our students, families, and community.

• We prepare our students to be critical thinkers, responsible digital citizens, innovators and visionaries, resilient individuals, and global collaborators.

• We commit to inclusive practices and equity with an expectation of excellence from every student and employee every day.

Job Summary

This position supports the academic success of all students by helping them develop self-awareness, facilitating their academic development, assisting them in developing positive relationships with others, aiding them in becoming self-directive, and guiding them in planning and preparing for post-secondary opportunities. 

This position aids in the development and management of a comprehensive school counseling program that is preventative in design and developmental in nature and is in alignment with national, state, and local standards and the individual school’s needs. This position functions as a leader, advocate, collaborator and agent of systemic change in support of all students’ needs. This position helps ensure that effective strategies are employed to encourage the maximum development of academic, career and personal/social goals for all students.

Essential Responsibilities

This job description is a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. Employees may be requested to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description. Additionally, the scope of this job may change as necessary by the school division.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential responsibilities.

PWCS requires that each employee:

• work collaboratively with all stakeholders in providing a World-Class Education,
• establish and maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with others,
• communicate effectively,
• relate to and interact with a non-traditional and diverse student and employee population,
• report to work on a regular and punctual basis as scheduled,
• perform all other related work delegated or required to accomplish the objectives of the total school program,
• have knowledge of and be able to use relevant technology,
• participate in the annual professional growth planning process, and
• recognize that they are in a position of public trust and are held to a high standard of personal and professional conduct.

Essential Responsibilities - specific to this job

• Plan, organize and deliver a comprehensive school counseling program based upon the Standards for School Counseling Programs in Prince William County Public Schools, the Standards for School Counseling Programs in Virginia Public Schools, and the American School Counselor Association Standards
• Work within the beliefs, philosophy, and mission statements that have been developed by the school counseling department to align with the school and School Division’s mission statements
• Apply legal and ethical standards of the professional school counselor
• Advocate for the elimination of barriers to access and assure a rigorous curriculum for all students
• Assist students in defining individual goals reflecting their interests, skills, aptitudes, and work values
• Ensure that student academic program planning is provided to assists each student in selecting appropriate and challenging courses based upon their educational and career goals
• Monitor each student’s yearly progress toward successful completion of all graduation requirements
• Assist students in acquiring the academic preparation essential to select from a variety of educational and employment options upon completion of high school
• Assist students in acquiring an understanding and respect for self and others and the skills necessary to be responsible citizens
• Improve students’ study skills and test-taking skills, enhance students’ self-concept development, strengthen students’ decision-making and goal setting skills, and develop students’ coping skills through utilization of the Prince William County Public School’s K-12 School Counseling Curriculum
• Assist with administration and interpretation of standardized testing, as applicable
• Utilize and interpret student educational records of assigned counselors according to local, state and federal guidelines
• Maintain accurate student information per Prince William County Public Schools’ regulations
• Participate in child study (intervention team) meetings, as required per school
• Consult with parents, staff, helping professionals, and community agencies regarding student progress, as appropriate per confidentiality requirements
• Plan student and parent programs that encourage academic, personal/social, and career development of all students
• Collect and utilize data to link the school counseling program to students’ academic success
• Provide leadership, intervention and support when crisis counseling is provided to students
• Develop, in consultation with the school’s director of school counseling, data-driven action plans that aligns with school and school counseling program goals, impact closing the gap issues, and allow effective monitoring of student’s progress
• Provide regular result reports to administrators, teachers and appropriate stakeholders
• Monitor impact issues such as academic achievement, discipline referrals, and attendance and assist with and support appropriate interventions

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Behaviors

• Ability to uphold the ethical and professional standards of professional counseling practices, and support and maintain the development of a school counseling program that is based on the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model.

Minimum/ Preferred Education level

Master's Degree in School Counseling from an approved school counselor education program.