School Counselor

Jeffco Public Schools (Jeffco) is located in Jefferson County, Colorado. It is the second largest school district in Colorado serving 69,000 students across 155 schools.

With 14,000 employees, the district is the largest employer in Jefferson County and has provided educational excellence for more than 70 years.

Jeffco embraces the spirit of the West and the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountain region with the county spanning more than 770 square miles running the length of the western edge of the Denver metropolitan area.

The district is diverse in both population and geography, from urban to rural, including the mountain communities in the foothills west of Denver.

Overall, Jeffco has 31% of students that qualify for free and reduced lunch, an indicator of poverty, and 34% minority (25% Hispanic) student population.

The district is implementing a new strategic plan, Jeffco Thrives 2025 that is focused on providing a world-class education that prepares all Jeffco students for bright and successful futures as local and global citizens. Come join us!

Jeffco Public Schools is a Single-State Employer. All candidates hired by Jeffco Public Schools must reside within the state of Colorado.

SUMMARY Promote the social emotional wellness of students and staff through programming that supports a positive culture and climate, coordinating universal social emotional instruction, and providing evidence-based targeted supports.

Support students across the continuum with RTI and MTSS. This support may include, but is not limited to, one-on-one support, group work, classroom and teacher support, and collaborative problem solving with both prevention and intervention models.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following.

• Lead and partner with school staff and school community to build a positive school culture and climate by coordinating universal social emotional programming and supports such as : universal SEL instruction, conflict resolution, data-based decision making, time management, safe school planning, professional development, and facilitation of Tier 2 supports, which may include psycho-educational counseling groups.
• Collaborate with school leadership to assess, develop and implement school wide initiatives to address social emotional wellness.
• Work with teachers and school staff to support students' individual needs via teacher consultation, team meetings, MTSS / RTI process.
• Use research-based and technically sound practices to drive decision-making; and collaborate with school personnel and parents to develop and modify student intervention strategies.
• Serve as liaison among district building(s), families and community. Collaborates with various teams to assure positive outcomes for all learners.
• Provide professional learning or content for adult learners.
• Respect for diversity in the home, school, local and global communities.
• Other duties as assigned.

CERTIFICATION : Current School Counselor endorsement on a valid Colorado License or hold current CDE Special Services Provider license with a School Psychologist or School Social Worker endorsement.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EQUIPMENT : Ability to communicate and develop effective relationships and function effectively as a team member.

Willingness to be flexible and respond to the changing needs of students, staff, families, schools and the district. Ability to integrate educational theory, research and expertise into appropriate practices for local contexts, in a style that facilitates positive change and continuous improvement.

Must have effective group facilitation skills. Ability to use data to make educationally sound decisions. Best practices in Social Emotional Learning.

Ability to read and interpret documents, write reports and correspondence; and to use and integrate technology appropriately in daily work which includes, but is not limited to, efficient voice mail systems, application of basic computer skills to effectively use e-mail, internet, word processing.

SPAN OF CONTROL : This position does not have any supervisory responsibility.

DIVERSITY OF DUTIES : Duties require knowledge of District and school policies / procedures and applicable state / local / federal laws, facility security, child / adolescent behavior, intervention and mediation skills, and excellent verbal and written communication abilities.

Position does not require additional supervision responsibilities outside the regular work day / work week, however, student discipline events and conferences with staff may extend beyond the work day in order to ensure timely conclusion of such matters.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS : Normal routine levels of activity related to bending, carrying, climbing, hearing, reaching, sitting, standing, vision and walking, and may also involve above-average levels of activity at times that cannot always be anticipated.

Ability to meet physical needs of students.