Job Description
JOB DESCRIPTION OF THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Reports To
Principal and/or Counseling Supervisor or Coordinator of Virtual Learning (if assigned to the Virtual Learning Program)
Supervises
May coordinate and direct activities of counselor aides and clerical assistants.
Purpose
To help all students develop skills in the areas of personal‑social growth, educational planning, and career and vocational development.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Program Planning: The school counselor establishes the school‑counseling program and develops activities and resources to implement and evaluate the program, involving other school staff in decision‑making.
- Counseling: Provides individual and group counseling services to meet the developmental, preventive, and remedial needs of students.
- Consulting: Consults with students, parents, teachers, and community personnel to assist in meeting the needs of students.
- Coordinating: Coordinates all counseling services for students and assists with the coordination and implementation of student services in the school, helps teachers with the Guidance Curriculum, interprets test results and other student data, and assists teachers with the educational placement of students using appropriate assessment strategies.
- Student Appraisal: Accurately interprets test results and other student data and assists teachers with educational placement using appropriate assessment strategies.
- Professional Practices and Development: Adheres to ethical standards of the counseling profession, abides by relevant laws, policies, and procedures, participates in professional associations, and upgrades professional knowledge and skills when needed.
- Learning Management System for Online Program: All online courses are taught using the Guilford County Schools Learning Management System; counselors assigned to the Virtual Learning Program must attend professional development trainings to become proficient in the system.
Minimum Training and Experience
Bachelor’s degree in a related field with a Master’s degree in counseling or any equivalent combination of training and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
Special Requirements
Must be licensed by the State of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in counseling or be able to obtain licensure in this area.
Minimum Qualifications or Standards Required to Perform Essential Job Functions
- Physical Requirements: Operate a variety of equipment including computers, typewriters, copiers, calculators, etc.; able to exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally; able to walk, stand, and handle light work.
- Data Conception: Compare and judge functional, structural, or composite characteristics of data, people, or things.
- Interpersonal Communication: Speak and signal people to convey or exchange information; respond to instructions and assignments.
- Language Ability: Read and prepare correspondence, reports, and forms; speak before groups with poise, voice control, and confidence.
- Intelligence: Apply logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw conclusions; interpret technical instructions.
- Verbal Aptitude: Record and deliver information; explain procedures; follow oral and written instructions.
- Numerical Aptitude: Use mathematical formulas, add, subtract, multiply, divide, handle decimals and percentages, and understand descriptive statistics.
- Form/Spatial Aptitude: Inspect items for proper length, width, and shape.
- Motor Coordination: Coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately when using office equipment.
- Manual Dexterity: Handle a variety of items such as office equipment; have minimal eye/hand/foot coordination; no requirement for color discrimination.
- Interpersonal Temperament: Deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions; adapt to stress and emergency situations.
- Physical Communication: Talk and hear; communicate via telephone.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- General knowledge of ethical guidelines applicable to the position as outlined by professional organizations and/or federal, state, and local laws, rules and regulations.
- General knowledge of principles of organization and administration.
- General knowledge of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.
- Skill in counseling and motivating students.
- Ability to plan, coordinate, and evaluate the effectiveness of student programs.
- Ability to coordinate the efforts of support services personnel and outside agencies.
- Ability to use common office machines and popular computer‑driven word processing, spreadsheet, and file maintenance programs.
- Ability to maintain complete and accurate records and statistics and to develop meaningful reports from them.
- Ability to effectively express ideas orally and in writing.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as required by work assignments.
Disclaimer
The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees in this job.