School Adjustment Counselor: South High Community School - 2026-2027

Worcester-Public-Schools; Worcester (MA); Presencial; USD 61.000 - 91.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Worcester Public Schools’ South High Community School in Worcester, MA seeks a School Adjustment Counselor to support students' social, emotional, and academic growth within a collaborative team. The role emphasizes equity, proactive behavior support, and partnership with families and staff to build a culture of belonging and continuous improvement.

Ideal candidate holds MA DESE School Social Worker/Adjustment Counselor license, a Master's degree, and experience with diverse communities; salary

Formación

• Must have MA DESE license in School Social Work/School Adjustment Counselor (all levels).
• Master's degree in a relevant field.
• Ability to build staff capacity and partner with families.

Responsabilidades

• Pre-referral conferences with school personnel for appropriate intervention.
• Individual and/or group short-term counseling for referred students.
• Collaborate with teachers, principals, and staff for diagnosing, evaluating and recommending interventions.
• Provide crisis intervention and conflict resolution services as requested.
• Make home visits and counsel with parents to address social, emotional, and academic needs.
• Serve as referral agent and case manager with community resources.
• Work as a resource team member and supervise attendance when indicated by court.
• Provide outreach and follow-up for attendance issues.
• Compile and maintain data on pupils referred for appraisal.
• Protect student privacy and comply with laws and district policies.
• Ensure equal educational opportunity for all students.

Educación

Masters degree

MA DESE license - School Social Worker/School Adjustment Counselor

Descripción del empleo

School Adjustment Counselor: South High Community School - 2026-2027

Worcester Public Schools South High Community School - Worcester, Massachusetts

Job Description

SUBJECT: School Adjustment Counselor

REPORTS TO: Building Principal

We are seeking a highly motivated, student-centered School Counselor to join our dynamic and collaborative team. The ideal candidate is deeply committed to equity, excellence, and the social, emotional, and academic success of all students. This individual must bring both compassion and strategic leadership to their work—balancing responsive support with proactive, system‑level thinking.

At our school, we believe in cultivating a learning environment where every child is known, supported, and empowered to thrive. We are looking for a counselor who not only responds effectively to students’ daily socio‑emotional needs, but who also partners with staff to build a proactive, schoolwide culture of belonging and behavioral growth. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to build staff capacity, contribute to the school’s continuous improvement efforts, and lead initiatives that align with our shared commitment to supporting the whole child.

Key Qualities and Expectations

• Relational Excellence: Builds strong, trusting relationships with students, families, and staff. Serves as a consistent, positive, and caring presence for students across all grade levels. Demonstrates cultural competence and works effectively with students and families from diverse racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds.
• Strategic Systems Thinker: Eager to lead schoolwide initiatives that promote positive behavior, social‑emotional learning, and a culture of belonging. Collaborates with educators to integrate proactive, evidence‑based strategies into daily classroom practice.
• Highly Organized and Reflective: Maintains effective systems for managing responsibilities and tracking student needs. Continuously reflects on their practice and identifies areas for growth and improvement.
• Lifelong Learner: Demonstrates a commitment to ongoing professional development and remains current with best practices in counseling, equity, and student support.

Accountability Objective - District‑based Description

This position is accountable for the delivery of social casework services to students; to identify a student’s needs and to make use of internal and community resources to help bring about positive changes so as to function to his/her fullest potential in the school and community through actions consistent with the policies of the Worcester Public schools and relevant state laws and regulations.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Responsible for pre‑referral conferences with school personnel in a team context for the appropriate intervention for a student.
2. Responsible for individual and/or group short‑term counseling with, or otherwise assisting referred students.
3. Responsible for cooperating and consulting as a team member with teachers, principals and other school personnel for purposes of diagnosing, evaluating and recommending interventions for the adjustment of students.
4. Responsible for providing crisis intervention and conflict resolution services when requested by school personnel.
5. Responsible for making home visits to parents of referred students and counseling with parents at school and in the home to help them understand the social, emotional and academic needs of the student.
6. Responsible for serving as a referral agent and case manager for the student and parent(s) in developing a network of social services with community agencies.
7. Responsible for serving as a resource team member and/or supervisor of attendance for the court when indicated in cases of children in need of service.
8. Responsible for providing outreach and follow‑up for students referred because of attendance problems.
9. Responsible for compiling, summarizing, maintaining, and submitting data or other records of pupils referred for appraisal to appropriate school personnel.
10. Responsible for safeguarding the student’s right to privacy against disclosure of information in the student’s case history, or if disclosures of confidences during counseling within the framework of applicable laws and systemwide policies.
11. Responsible for being knowledgeable and conforming to state and systemwide regulations and guidelines on student records.
12. Responsible for assuring equal educational opportunity to all individuals regardless of race, color, gender, age, marital status, religion, natural origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, or disability.
13. Perform other job‑related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

1. MA DESE license - School Social Worker/School Adjustment Counselor — Grades: All levels, including the completion of a 900-hour field‑based experience.
2. Masters degree
3. Evidence of mastery of social case work techniques.
4. Ability to understand the dynamics of families from various cultural backgrounds.
5. Two years’ experience working with school‑age children and their families.
6. Familiarity in working with consultants, resource personnel, community groups, etc.
7. Ability to produce concise reports concerning relevant developmental, social, and medical information.
8. Group work experience.
9. Ability to deal with typical issues, such as eating disorders, pregnancy, alcohol and other drug abuse, sexual identity, family conflict, and physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
10. Willingness to visit students’ homes throughout the Worcester community.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Ability to speak Albanian, Arabic, Nepali, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese or an African Language.
2. Training and experience in conflict resolution techniques.
3. Experience working in schools and/or social service agencies with clients from culturally and socio‑economically diverse backgrounds.
4. Experience in providing consultation services, including workshops to professionals relative to child development, behavior modification, adolescent issues, etc.
5. Demonstrated experience supporting students with special needs.
6. Demonstrated experience with second language acquisition.
7. SEI Endorsement.

Work Year

185 days

Position Type

Full‑time

Salary

Salary scale shown is based on the candidate holding a Bachelor's Degree with the potential to increase dependent on the highest level of education.

$61,410 to $91,240 Per Year

Job Categories

Student Services > Adjustment Counselor

Job Details

• Job ID: 5985077
• Application Deadline: Nov 20, 2026 11:59 PM (UTC)
• Posted: Nov 06, 2026 12:00 AM (UTC)
• Starting Date: To Be Determined

Welcome to South High Community School

Our Focus StatementSCHOOL FOCUS: CREATING STRATEGIC WRITERSA school-wide effort has begun to have all South High Community School students become strategic writers who show measurable growth in their ability to answer open‑response questions effectively through the use of various writing strategies all teachers use in their content areas, as measured by open response scores on MCAS exams, internal assessments, student work and the use of citywide rubrics. View School Improvement Plan for more details about our school.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Worcester Public Schools is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative ActionEmployer/Educational Institution and does not discriminate regardless ofrace, color, ancestry, sex, gender, age, religion, national origin, genderidentity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, disability,pregnancy or a related condition, veteran status or homelessness. TheWorcester Public Schools provides equal access to employment and the fullrange of general, occupational and vocational education programs. For moreinformation relating to Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action contact theHuman Resource Manager, 20 Irving Street, Worcester, MA 01609,508-799-3020.

Job Requirements

• To maximize the effectiveness of your application, it is recommended that you provide a cover letter which describes the specific training and experience that you have for the position(s) that you are applying for and that you ensure that the certification information in your SchoolSpring profile is updated. Your MA DESE certification number will allow us to verify that you possess the correct license. Please ensure that your SchoolSpring resume, specifically, is updated as this will be used to determine your Degree and Step placement on the Teachers salary schedule.
• Citizenship, residency or work visa required

Contact Information

• Olga Papadopoulos , Acting Principal
• 170 Apricot Street
• Worcester, Massachusetts 01603
• Phone: [phone]
• Fax: [phone]
• Email: [e-mail]