2024-2025 - Lower School - Counselor

Isidore Newman School seeks a talented and dynamic Lower School Counselor for the 2024-2025 academic year. The Lower School Counselor is a full-time position, reporting to the Head of Lower School. The ideal candidate will be team-oriented, collaborative, and student-centered with a demonstrated interest in and capacity for working with Lower School students, their families, faculty, and administrators. The Counselor works closely with the Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School Counselors and the Health and Wellness Programs Manager to provide robust, comprehensive services to students, faculty, and parents in support of student growth and development.

The Newman Counseling Department seeks to provide an opportunity for students to seek and develop resources and support for their own social and emotional development. Reflecting Newman's Mission and Core Values, the Counseling Department is particularly committed to the values of compassion and responsibility for others, respect for cultural and personal differences, and the emotional well-being of each member of our community. Newman counselors, learning specialists, and health professionals make up the student support team, whose purpose is to identify and reduce barriers to learning, within a framework that emphasizes personalization as a means of supporting students' working to their highest potential.

The successful candidate will possess excellent speaking, writing, and interpersonal skills; be successful in working with teams; demonstrate relevant and current knowledge of adolescent development and health related topics; have a commitment and ability to work with a diverse community; and genuinely love to work with students, educators, and families at the Lower School level.

The most important qualifications include:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university; a master's degree in counseling, social work and/or psychology
• Possess professional license in counseling: either LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker), an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), PLPC (Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor), or LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor).
• Knowledge of independent schools
• Minimum of five years school counseling experience preferred
• Superior interpersonal and communication skills with students, parents, and faculty/administration
• A sense of humor and the ability to work collaboratively with the academic team
• A student-centered focus
• Understand competing responsibilities to uphold confidentiality in relation to private materials and conversations while providing colleagues and families with the information they need to help the student
• Must meet and maintain any and all federal, state and local requirements to work in an educational setting

Significant responsibilities include:

• Foster and maintain strong relationships and collaborative communication with students, parents, faculty, and administrators
• Work collaboratively with Lower School administrators and grade level teams to support students, families, and faculty
• Provide individual counseling on an as-needed basis to students and families
• Work collaboratively as a member of the student support team in the continued development of a comprehensive student support program that meets the needs of the Newman community
• Work collaboratively with the Middle and Upper School counselors to ensure continuity of care during divisional transitions
• Organize and facilitate small groups for students on various topics of interest and concern for adolescents
• Design and implement curriculum to educate students about health-related topics. Teach and lead discussions in classrooms, , class meetings and Lower School assemblies.
• Organize and facilitate parent education groups
• Provide consultation to administration, faculty and parents
• Provide relevant training to faculty, staff, and administration
• Provide referrals to outside agencies or practitioners as appropriate
• Maintain confidential student files
• Provide and assist with crisis intervention and crisis management
• Participate as a full member of the Lower School faculty
• Communicate regularly and effectively with parents regarding trends related to student well-being
• Demonstrate willingness to engage actively in the Newman school community in an appropriate and visible way

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, updated resume and names of three professional references.