Middle School Counselor

Job Title: Middle School Counselor

St. Catherine's School is an Episcopal day school in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1890, enrolling 946 girls age 3 through grade 12. Located on a 16-acre campus in the western part of the city, St. Catherine's core values include pursuing academic excellence, developing character, nurturing spiritual growth, celebrating individuals, and building community.

St. Catherine's School provides a rigorous education that prepares girls with diverse perspectives for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and service in a global community.

POSITION OVERVIEW

St. Catherine’s School seeks a committed and solutions-oriented full-time Middle School Counselor passionate about working with middle school girls and faculty. As part of the Middle School team, the counselor will engage with faculty and students through the Middle School program in which we purposefully define program outcomes to benefit our girls. The Counselor’s role will include working directly with students to provide social and emotional support through one-on-one sessions, small group counseling, teaching trimester courses on personal growth, and promoting the work of the Health and Wellness Team. The Counselor will also be an essential administrative team member. They will assist with creating and facilitating community programming and will be expected to establish and maintain positive relationships with parents/caregivers and their colleagues. 

Supervisor: Head of Middle School

Position Status: Salaried, exempt, full-time, regular, 9-month

Hours of Work: Standard work week.

Note: This position description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work to be performed by employees within this classification. This position description should not be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities required or assigned to an employee in this position. Nothing in this position description restricts St. Catherine’s School’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide social and emotional support to Middle School students through individual counseling and small student groups;
• Provide support and guidance to Middle School families; 

• Collaborate with Middle School faculty to promote student growth, well-being, and belonging;
• Implement and uphold the School’s access, equity, and belonging initiatives;
• Support and design programming regarding health and wellness, parenting, and developmentally appropriate resources for the school community;
• Teach 5th and 6th-grade trimester Personal Growth courses;
• Serve on Middle School Grade Level Teams and Middle School Student Care Team along with other key members of the Middle School faculty and staff;
• Serve on School life committees as requested ;
• Consult and communicate with community resources, practices, and therapists on an as-needed basis.

Requirements

• At a minimum, a Master’s degree in school counseling, psychology, or social work is required: M.Ed., M.A. M.S. or M.S.W.;
• Licensed in Virginia or have the ability to become licensed (L.C.P., L.S.C., L.P.C., L.S.W. ) preferred;

• Experience in counseling middle-school-aged girls; 
• History of building strong relationships with children, families, and colleagues;
• Ability to work as a team member in providing student support;
• Ability to articulate current trends concerning student health and wellness;
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written, in engaging with students, parents, and colleagues;
• Familiarity with and a history of strong implementation of programming focused on student health and wellness;
• Interpersonal skills for communicating effectively with and supporting all members of the school community;
• Maintain confidentiality.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to sit; stand; walk; use hands to handle and feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch and crawl; talk and hear; engage in moderately strenuous physical activity both indoors and out; and smell. The employee may occasionally lift or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Ability to become CPR and First Aid Certified.

TRAVEL

Travel is not a requirement for this role.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

.St.Catherine’s School does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its hiring practices. St. Catherine’s School is committed to providing an inclusive educational environment. We actively engage students, families, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Our School community respects the differences in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. Consistent with the School’s mission, St. Catherine’s fosters in our students, and experts from all others, respect for the dignity and wholeness of every person. For more information about the school’s Access, Equity and Belonging please follow this link https://www.st.catherines.org/about/access-equity-and belonging.

CONDITIONAL OFFERS

An offer of employment for this position is contingent upon the applicant’s right to work in the United States as a citizen, permanent resident, or someone with proper work authorization. It is also contingent upon the successful completion of background checks as may be requested by the school or required by law.

Benefits

St. Catherine’s School offers a highly competitive compensation package for this full-time position with benefits to include excellent health plan options, retirement benefits, exhaustive professional development and networking opportunities as well as state-of-the art facilities.