Part-Time Lower School Mental Health Counselor

The Wheeler School; Providence (RI); On-site; USD 34,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

The Wheeler School seeks a part-time Lower School Mental Health Counselor to join our Health Center team and provide long-term temporary coverage through June 2027. This role will deliver culturally responsive mental and behavioral health care to Lower School students, collaborating with families, teachers, and other administrators to support social-emotional health.

The ideal candidate has a Master’s degree in a counseling-related field and 1–2 years of school counseling experience, with a

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in counseling-related field with licensure preferred.
• Experience in school-based counseling and collaboration with families and staff preferred.
• Commitment to culturally responsive and inclusive counseling practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide short-term focused counseling, case management, and crisis intervention.
• Observe classrooms and support strategies for behavioral regulation and coping.
• Lead lunch bunch and small support groups; coordinate with families and school staff.
• Coordinate with Health Center team and division heads to support students’ mental health needs.
• Document clinical notes in student health records and assist with health promotion activities.

Education

Master’s Degree in Counseling, Social Work, or School Psychology; licensure strongly preferred

Job description

Part-Time Lower School Mental Health Counselor (Long-Term Temporary Coverage)

Start/End Date: Immediate through June 2027

The Wheeler School, a co-ed, N-12 independent day school with city and farm campuses serving approximately 800 students in the Greater Providence and Greater Boston areas, is seeking a part-time Lower School Mental Health Counselor to join our Health Center team to provide long-term temporary coverage through June 2027.

Ideal candidates for faculty and staff positions at Wheeler are people with a sense of humor, warmth, and humility. They are excellent communicators, with empathy for others and an ability to listen and respond with good intuition and with the help of colleagues. They are ambitious and hard-working, committed to supporting students by offering help and creating new opportunities. When developing curriculum and programming, our faculty and staff members are curious, striving each year to stretch and grow, to implement new ideas that improve the Wheeler experience. In the end, they love to spend their days with young people and enjoy all that the Wheeler community - creative, energetic, dynamic, and diverse - has to offer.

About our Health Services

The Wheeler School Health & Wellness Office is composed of three pediatric nurse specialists, four part/full-time child and adolescent counselors, and an athletic trainer. Our talented staff seeks a skilled counselor to help us continue to provide quality care and maintain a prevention and wellness model. We are proud to have received a “First Team” ranking and a “Safe Sports School'' award from the National Athletic Trainers' Association, which symbolizes our school’s commitment to providing the best level of care, injury prevention, and treatment. Drawing on our staff’s connections to an extraordinary array of health agencies, resources, and practitioners in Providence, the school offers candidates the opportunity to provide physical and behavioral health care in a vibrant community setting.

This part-time counselor role (20 hours per week) will provide culturally responsive mental and behavioral health care to students in the Lower School division. They will work collaboratively with families, teachers, academic support, the Equity, Community & Belonging office, and division heads to support the social-emotional health and educational needs of the community.

Specific duties and responsibilities

• Providing short-term focused counseling, case management, and crisis intervention.
• Observing classrooms, managing resources for classrooms around behavioral regulation and coping strategies.
• Leading lunch bunch (for friendship and social skills) and small support groups as needed.
• Communicating with families in collaboration with division heads
• Providing referrals and coordinating treatment with external providers.
• Providing culturally responsive care to students and adults, with an understanding of how social identities impact one’s experience, attitudes, and beliefs.
• Participating in multi-disciplinary student-support teams.
• Communicating and coordinating with the Health Center team, faculty, Deans, Division Heads, and other administrators to coordinate support for students with mental health needs.
• Completing clinical documentation in the individual student or adult school health records.
• Assist with health promotion activities and events related to mental health and wellness.
• Support students with acute care needs in all divisions as needed.

This is a part-time position (20 hours per week), and we are looking to fill this position as soon as possible. The long-term temporary coverage position will run through the end of the school year (June 2027). The successful candidate will have experience with child and adolescent school-based counseling and can demonstrate skillfulness in working successfully with teams of other professionals. The selected candidate will be knowledgeable of and committed to approaches in their counseling and teaching that are culturally responsive and inclusive.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Counseling, Social Work, or School Psychology; licensure is strongly preferred
• A minimum of 1-2 years of counseling experience in the student support area, and experience with children from early childhood through young adults in a school setting
• Experience working in a diverse and culturally responsive school and commitment to trauma-informed practices
• Understanding of social-emotional development from early childhood through young adults in a school setting
• Experience with applying Health and SEL frameworks and curricula and with classroom teaching
• Experience with a variety of classroom accommodations and multi-age learning environments
• Ability to work collaboratively with faculty to enhance understanding, inclusivity, and community
• Exceptional integrity and ability to maintain confidentiality and establish clear boundaries
• Understanding of student safety laws and best practices

Statement on Diversity and Cultural Competency At Wheeler

At Wheeler we actively seek students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds in the belief that a broad range of experiences and viewpoints enhance learning, enriches life on campus, and better prepares us all for full participation in a pluralistic, democratic society. We seek to further the overall diversity and cultural competency within our community through hiring.

The Wheeler School is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or disability, and any other category protected by federal, state or local law.

About The Wheeler School:

Founded in 1889 by visionary artist and educator Mary C. Wheeler, The Wheeler School is an N-12 independent day school of approximately 800 students from throughout Greater Providence and Greater Boston. Wheeler’s mission, “to learn our powers and be answerable for their use,” is incorporated into our classrooms, athletic fields, art studios, and STEAM labs, as students are encouraged to think deeply and explore the world on and beyond our two campuses in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island and our 120-acre farm in Seekonk, Massachusetts. Across Wheeler’s campuses and grades, dedicated faculty and staff identify students’ learning path and passions, challenging and supporting them in pursuit of academic excellence, artistic expression, and personal growth. Our graduates are prepared for college and life as creative, ethical, and engaged global citizens. Wheeler is also home to The Hamilton School, where skilled faculty meet students’ learning differences with the individualized instruction that leads to success.