School Counselor

School Counselor 

Reports to: Principal

Classification: Classified

Job Status: Full Time/Exempt

Year Round Vs.  School Year

Start Date: ASAP 

Location: Seattle, WA

ABOUT RAINIER VALLEY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: 

Rainier Valley Leadership Academy is a public, tuition-free, charter school, providing an anti-racist collaborative community and rigorous education while providing access to civic leadership and college success for all scholars in Seattle. RVLA will serve grades Kindergarten and 6th-12th grades in the Seattle Community. We respect and celebrate the wealth and vitality of the ethnic and cultural traditions that thrive in our neighborhood. Our mission is to put every child on the path to success in college and career, leadership, and life.

We integrate college and career-ready and hands-on instruction to expose all scholars to a variety of authentic experiences. Our teachers use a data-driven collection to meet scholar needs and differentiation. We use common planning and collaborative team time to analyze data to inform instruction. We provide a teacher mentor for every scholar and focus on personalized learning.

RVLA boasts a highly qualified and diverse faculty and staff that not only have excellent educational credentials but also bring to the school community many years of dedication to scholar success and passion for our mission. Our small school community allows adults to know each other and every scholar by name, strength, and need. We pride ourselves on building and maintaining close relationships with each other,  our community,  scholars, and families.

OPPORTUNITY:

We are seeking a mission-aligned School Counselor to join the growing team at Rainier Valley Leadership Academy to serve scholars in Kindergarten and 6th-12th grades. Our ideal candidate is scholar-focused and utilizes innovative, data-driven, anti-racist instructional practices to engage, connect, and build relationships with scholars and their families to foster educational success. We are looking for an individual who is a unicorn and looks forward to having something different to do daily. Someone passionate about having a long-term commitment to joining the RVLA community and wants to help build a community-centered school driven to dismantle systemic oppression through the unit of the school.

To learn more about what it’s like to work at RVLA, please visit: myrvla.org 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Promote a college and career going culture through various activities on and off campus
• Serve in the capacity of school registrar to lead in creating schedules for scholars 
• Develop a robust counseling program that can support scholars from 6th - 12th grade
• Conduct conflict mediation program and promote safety for all scholars
• Coordinate and implement dissemination of information to scholars, parents, and community members pertaining to college knowledge and high school readiness
• Implement the middle level or junior high school guidance curriculum through the delivery of

classroom units

• Guide individuals and groups of scholars through the development of educational and

career plans

• Counsel individuals and small groups of scholars toward social and emotional and academic growth
• Provides direct support service to individual scholars, small groups, and classrooms.
• Provide counseling to scholars to promote ready-to-learn skills 
• Completes assessments, referrals, and counseling with scholars and families.
• Develops and maintains family outreach programs and community partnerships
• Provide effective counseling strategies to scholars to replace negative behavior with app
• Maintain scholar records to ensure scholars are appropriately placed in academic classes  
• Coordinate visits by college and career centered representatives during the school day
• Organize and implement field trips to promote college awareness
• Provide necessary information and materials for scholars regarding PSAT and or ACT Aspire and interpret results to scholars, parents, and staff
• Support the family  advisory program as a level 1 intervention to address barriers to learning, cultivating  a college going culture, and promoting leadership and life skills
• Offer scholar and parent workshops to provide information and assistance in preparing for high school and beyond
• Participate in, coordinate, and conduct activities that contribute to the effective operation

of the counseling program and school

• Provide individual and small group counseling to scholars with IEP counseling needs
• Work collaboratively with School’s Student Support Sankofa Team, School Psychologist and other academic and mental health  support personnel to ensure scholar success
• Conduct parent conferences  to discuss scholar's academic progress 
• Maintain work hours extending beyond school hours for other professional duties or functions such as staff meetings, etc.
• Maintain professional standards and school environment that is productive, safe, and focused   
• Participate in RVLA and individual professional development
• Participate in other events aimed at promoting or developing RVLA  and its schools (i.e., scholar recruitment)

This employer strives for a balanced, productive workforce, which is diverse in terms of age, gender, and cultural identity. We do not base hiring or promotional decisions on factors other than performance and professional growth potential.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree (required)

• Valid Washington State Teaching Certificate with content-area endorsement
• We require all counselors to have a valid Washington State counseling credential.

• Experience teaching or working within a Charter school setting 

• Knowledge of and experience with Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
• Data management expertise 

• Excellent collaborative and organizational skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Growth mindset and love of learning

• A strong ethical base and self-awareness

• Relentless commitment to high standards for high quality execution

• Passionate with a strong sense of personal responsibility toward achieving ambitious goals

• Strong sense of integrity, ethics, and drive to achieve and grow

• Humility, sense of humor, and rock-solid commitment to RVLA’s mission and the Southeast Seattle community

• Commitment to building programs from beginning to end

• Ability to multi-task and function in a high-energy environment
• Clear fingerprint & background check with Puget Sound Educational Service District

RVLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strives for a balanced, productive workforce, which is diverse in terms of age, gender, and cultural identity. We do not base hiring or promotional decisions on factors other than performance and professional growth potential.

Please note that we are unable to sponsor H-1B Visa applicants

Compensation and current Roles Available:

Title | School Counselor

Compensation Rate | $71,719 - $105,282 DOE

Status | PT

FTE Equivalent | .5 

Estimated Weekly Hours | 20

Benefit Eligibility | No

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

If interested in this position, please visit www.myrvla.org/careers to view all open positions and apply The start date for this position is August 2024

*Only applicants chosen for an interview will be contacted.