Director of Student Mental Health & Wellbeing

DCI - District of Columbia International School; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 97,000 - 122,000; Full time

Job description

District of Columbia International School (DCI) is a public charter school serving over 1600 racially and economically diverse students in grades 6-12 from across the District of Columbia. We aim to provide our students with a world‑class education that empowers them to follow their passions and change the world. DCI’s education centers on a International Baccalaureate curriculum, advanced language learning in Chinese, Spanish, and French, and a culture focused on student agency supported by 1:1 technology.

Director of Mental Health

This position provides strategic leadership, supervision, and operational oversight for a team of school counselors and social workers. This role ensures high‑quality, equitable, and efficient delivery of mental health services to students and broader support to ensure students are able to thrive at school. They will help support the broader implementation of Mental Health supports in partnership with school teams, the Director of Student Support and outside agencies.

Salary Range: $96,820 - $121,851 (Starting salary is determined by education and years of relevant experience)

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Education, Social Work or related field required from an accredited institution.
• LICSW or equivalent clinical licensure is required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in school‑based mental health services.
• Demonstrated success in managing and developing diverse mental health teams.
• Strong understanding of MTSS, trauma‑informed practices, and equity in school mental health.
• Effective leadership and communication skills, especially across interdisciplinary teams.
• Experience with attendance systems and interventions, including home visits and follow‑up strategies.
• Skilled in crisis intervention and emergency response planning.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interest in, or experience with, language immersion, 1:1 technology, and the IB Program.
• Commitment to keeping current on best practices and evidence‑based interventions in special education, student mental health and general education.
• Commitment to ensuring access and achievement for our learners with exceptional learning needs.
• Clear a background check.

Key Responsibilities, Qualities & Skills

• Supervise, coach, and evaluate the performance of a team of counselors and social workers at DCI.
• Implement and monitor systems for data‑driven decision‑making around Mental Health services and interventions.
• Coordinate mental health service delivery hours, caseloads, and scheduling in collaboration with the special education leadership team, the data team, and external providers.
• Champion the beliefs, philosophy, and mission statements that have been developed by DCIs counseling department to align with DCI’s mission statement.
• Advocate for the elimination of barriers to access instruction and assure a rigorous curriculum and environment for all students.
• Collaborate with leaders across teams, particularly with the Director of Student Support to ensure strong communication and coordination.
• Apply legal and ethical standards of ASCA and NASW.
• Manage the delivery of school counseling and mental health services to address the academic, social/emotional, and career domains as developmentally appropriate.
• Oversee our attendance intervention systems working in collaboration with the data team and school leaders.
• Oversee the documentation and provision of student records as needed.
• Support school teams in ensuring that student academic program planning is provided to assist each student in selecting appropriate and challenging courses based upon their educational and career goals.
• Coordinate and / or support the Crisis Management Team, including during on‑call periods after hours and on weekends.
• Supervise all external providers of Mental Health support at DCI and ensure that the holistic support provided to students and staff is effective and efficient.
• Coordinate and plan all school counseling informational programs for staff, students, and parents in conjunction with individual school counselors assigned to each program.
• Support counselors in consulting with the College & Career Counselors regarding delivery of career and college counseling services.
• Prepare a school counseling handbook of all program activities, to include school counselor responsibilities.
• Supervise the application and selection of students for special programs.
• Facilitate and attend various meetings related to school counseling services.
• Provide information regarding professional development opportunities available for school counselors.
• Lead the screening and selection of new school counselors and support staff.
• Manage the evaluative process for school counselors and social workers.
• Coordinate referrals to outside agencies.
• Provide school counseling services to students as designated by agreement with school administration - direct student work should be performed when there are capacity constraints on the team or when counselors / social workers are on extended leave.
• Demonstrate and maintain a knowledge of district regulations and policies that govern graduation, reporting of grades, promotion and retention, and all other relevant statutes.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant local, state, and federal regulations regarding student mental health and support services.
• Displays effective verbal and written communication skills and is able to provide exemplary customer services to all stakeholders through responsive and timely actions.
• Analyze the compatibility of program requirements and implementation procedures.
• Support the counseling team in processing case management concerns from schools, including concerns around graduation requirements, course credits, grade point averages, and transcript analysis.
• Keeps abreast of projects, high‑level initiatives, and emerging issues across DCI and pro‑actively helps to adjust department approach based on changes in direction, priorities, and resources; and collaborates with colleagues in other departments to develop or modify policy.
• Develop professional development and supporting documentation for school staff in relation to the mental health team and administer policy updates, requirements, department manuals, and FAQs affecting academic planning and scheduling.
• Other duties as assigned.

Faculty and Staff Development/Benefits

• We have a benefits package that includes health and disability insurance and paid leave.
• We offer teachers daily planning time, professional development, and reasonable class sizes.
• Teachers and staff have the appropriate technology and support to do their work.