Website Santa Catalina School
Lower and Middle School Counselor
Opportunity Statement
School Description
Santa Catalina School is a vibrant, independent Catholic school offering student-centered co-education to PreK through grade 8 and an all-girls’ boarding and day college preparatory upper school serving grades 9 through 12. Santa Catalina exists to develop in each student a striving for excellence, a maturing awareness of moral and spiritual values, a sense of responsible purpose, and a determination to serve the world with courage, grace, and compassion. With the cornerstones of excellence, spirituality, service, and responsibility, the school is committed to providing a supportive learning community for each student to grow in their intellectual, personal, and spiritual life, making Santa Catalina a transformational educational experience for its students.
Position Summary
Santa Catalina School, a nationally recognized PreK-12 independent Catholic school in Monterey, California, seeks an experienced and thoughtful educator to serve as its first Lower and Middle School Counselor. This position provides an exceptional opportunity to build on a well-established tradition of social and emotional education at Santa Catalina Lower and Middle School. The Lower and Middle School is composed of over 200 prekindergarten through eighth grade students, whose dedicated faculty and staff collaborate to design and deliver a dynamic learning environment. This is a unique opportunity to join students and teachers who joyfully and actively engage together in creating values-based, intentional community. The Lower and Middle School Counselor will join an experienced team of educators to create, organize, and coordinate the school’s counseling services, including oversight of the school’s Health and Wellness Program in the Lower and Middle School. This position supports the school, its mission and values, and its leadership while serving the educational, emotional, personal, and social needs of its students.
Description
The full-time Lower and Middle School Counselor is responsible for the effective organization and coordination of students’ social-emotional education, the health and wellbeing program, and counseling services. Reporting directly to the Head of Lower and Middle School, and working closely with the Lower and Middle School Leadership Team, the Lower and Middle School Counselor plays an important role in supporting the school’s strategic goal of building a culture of health and wellness. This position has an active presence on campus and is a member of the Child Study Team and the Health and Wellness Committee. The Lower and Middle School Counselor delivers a comprehensive school counseling program with an initial focus on the Middle School, including crisis intervention; short-term counseling focusing on emotional regulation strategies; social-emotional skill-building groups; and parent and teacher consultation, education, and collaboration. Major decisions regarding student social-emotional needs and mental health are made in consultation with the Head of Lower and Middle School and the Child Study Team.
Santa Catalina School believes that each employee makes a significant contribution to its success. That contribution should not be limited by the assigned responsibilities. Therefore, this position description is designed to outline primary duties, qualifications, and job scope, but not limit the incumbent nor the organization to just the work identified. It is our expectation that each employee will offer his/her services wherever and whenever necessary to ensure the success of our endeavors.
Essential Responsibilities
● Assess and assist students with issues related to emotional, personal, social, and educational development and adjustment
●Work as a member of a cohesive team in support of positive student growth
● Serve as a member of the Child Study Team
● Support and communicate with advisors, faculty, administration, and parents as needed
● Provide individual short-term counseling, consultation, and referrals for students as needed
● Partner with teachers to teach personal boundary and safe touch curriculum
● Cultivate relationships with and knowledge of off-campus providers
● Attend faculty meetings, chapel services, and other school community events as requested
● Prepare and deliver appropriate presentations to the faculty, parents, and students as needed, and in collaboration with the Director of Health and Wellness
● Lead Lower and Middle School efforts in aligning health and wellness programming
● Team with the Upper School Director of Health and Wellness and the Upper School Counselor to support the objectives of the Health and Wellness Program
Other Responsibilities
● Other duties as assigned
Qualifications
● Master’s degree in school counseling or the equivalent
● California School Counseling Certification or the equivalent
● Demonstrated commitment to the American School Counselor Association Ethical Standards for School Counselors
● Demonstrated success working with middle school and elementary-age children
● Two years experience as a school counselor with a background in adolescent development
● A commitment to the mission and identity of Santa Catalina School
● A desire to participate fully in the Santa Catalina community
● Successful completion of a LiveScan criminal background check as required by law
Competencies
●Demonstrated evaluative and facilitative skills
● Excellent verbal and written skills
● Approachable and welcoming demeanor
●Cultural competence and enthusiasm for working with a diverse and dynamic community
● Strong interpersonal skills, including good listening, humor, tact, intuition, and confidentiality
● Excellent writing, communication, and public speaking skills
● Ability to create responsive, caring, and appropriate relationships with students, families, and colleagues
● Strong organizational and record-keeping skills and digital literacy
● Understanding of the dynamics of a school community
● Ability to assess and respond to the needs of the school and act as a representative of the school
● Commitment to professional growth and education
● Ability to function well under stress
Supervisory Responsibilities
● This position does not supervise other employees.
Physical Requirements and Work Environment
● Be able to sit and meet with students for extended periods of time each day
● Work at a desk and computer screen for extended periods of time each day
● Ability to access buildings and facilities through a 36-acre campus, with reasonable accommodations, in order to meet with students and faculty
● Work in a school environment with a wide variety of challenges, deadlines, and people
Equal Employment Opportunity
Santa Catalina School is an equal-opportunity employer. Employment at Santa Catalina School is based solely on qualifications and competence for a particular position, without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, disability, marital status, or any other category protected by the law.
To Apply
Interested candidates should visit our website to complete and submit an application, resume, and cover letter:
http://www.santacatalina.org/employment
Electronic submission of candidate papers in .pdf format is preferred.
Santa Catalina provides reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities. Applicants who need accommodations to participate in the application process should contact Maria Chavez at maria.chavez@santacatalina.org
