DEFINITION: Under the direction of a site administrator, a counselor provides behavioral, educational, career, and vocational counseling to individuals and small groups of students; assists students in understanding and seeking solutions to social, emotional, or academic problems and issues; serves as a resource pertaining to student behavior management strategies, and welfare and attendance problems and concerns; and does other related functions as required. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: This position requires subject matter expertise commonly taught in public schools, and counseling and guidance knowledge and skills. Responsible and directly related experience is required to perform problem analysis using widely prescribed principles and concepts. The counselor performs decision analysis and makes decisions of considerable consequence, requiring the application and interpretation of data, facts, procedures, and policies. The counselor meets frequently with school administrators, teachers, other staff, and parents to communicate information, data, and alternative problem solutions. ESSENTIAL DUTIES: • Provides information and data to students concerning educational, career, and vocational planning. • Meets, confers, and counsels with parents, school personnel, and members of various youth serving agencies in developing alternative solutions to student educational, social, and emotional problems and concerns. • Performs individual and group counseling and guidance functions and activities, including career and vocational, and social and emotional adjustment counseling. • Collects, organizes, and analyzes student information through the use of educational historical data, test results, and through the use of interview techniques. • Appraises student interests, aptitudes, and attitudes utilizing a variety of assessment strategies and techniques. • Serves as a resource to site and District personnel, and members of the school community. • Assists in the development and monitoring of individual education plans for student with exceptional needs. • Maintains a liaison with social service and youth service agencies in pursuing referral follow-up activities. • Pursues evaluation and research activities to determine counseling and guidance effectiveness. ESSENTIAL DUTIES (cont’d) : • Assists in the planning, development, an implementation of master student program calendars. • Assists in identifying school program needs, and participates in developing school instructional programs geared to meet individual pupil needs. • Assists in planning, development, and conduct of programs that enhance student educational, career, and vocational opportunities, including speaker programs, student visitation programs, and other similarly related activities. • Establishes, maintains, and monitors the maintenance of a variety of files and records pertaining to student counseling, guidance, and related matters. • Assists in dealing with student behavior management problems, and in resolving welfare and attendance problems and concerns. • Plans, develops, and presents, and requested, a variety of management related reports pertaining to site counseling and guidance functions and activities. QUALIFICATIONS: Knowledge of: • Principles, methods, techniques, strategies, and trends in educational, vocational, career, social, and emotional adjustment counseling. • Applicable and appropriate aptitude, interest, and achievement appraisal instruments, techniques, and procedures. • Social service and youth service agencies in the local area. • Social, emotional, and behavioral characteristics of adolescent students. • Program evaluation and research techniques, strategies, and procedures. • Appropriate curriculum and instructional programs pertaining to students with a variety of aptitudes and varying interests. Ability to: • Communicate effectively in oral and written form. • Understand and carry out oral and written directions with minimal accountability controls. • Assist students in effectively analyzing and developing alternative solutions to behavioral, educational, social, and emotional problems, and concerns. • Conduct, analyze, and effectively utilize a variety of individual and group testing procedures and instruments applicable to student clients. • Effectively deal with site and District personnel, parents, social and youth services agencies in resolving student problems and concerns. • Effectively participate in the planning and implementation of school guidance and curricular programs. • Establish and maintain effective organizational, public, and community relationships. Education/Training/Required Certification: • Two years of successful public school counseling experience. • Equivalent to the completion of an earned Master of Arts or higher degree in psychology, counseling and guidance, or a closely related field. • Possession of a valid California Pupil Personnel Services Credential authorizing service as a counselor. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 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. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. While performing the duties of this job, the employee occasionally works in outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and color vision.