School Counselor

The Stratford School Counselor assists the Administration and Teaching staff through the development and execution of a school counseling program. The role participates collaboratively and professionally with other faculty and staff to promote the general well-being of the school and the collective/individual interest of its staff and student body. The School Counselor is responsible for serving as a resource to the school, focusing on both faculty/staff and parent support to assist with interventions in academic and social-emotional situations. The School Counselor promotes professional learning through self-assessment, reflection on practice, and professional conversations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the school’s Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs at two Stratford campuses: Stratford Preparatory Milpitas (SPM) with grades 6 - 12, and Stratford San Jose Middle School (SJMS) with grades 5 - 8.
  • Oversee the development and delivery of lessons to promote respect, responsibility, self-esteem, problem-solving, effective communication, etc.
  • Provide activities that actively engage students in learning tasks, which are related to curriculum goals and school SEL goals.
• Provide short-term school-based counseling (individual or group setting) for middle and high school students
• Offer guidance and strategies to teachers and parents for supporting students with a variety of social and emotional issues, including drafting and implementing behavior plans as needed.
  • Make recommendations for outside support on an as-needed basis.
• Develop educational workshops, speaker series, and other internal programs to meet student and parent needs.
• Work with the school leadership and student council to plan events such as Kindness Month, anti-bullying campaigns, community service, etc.
• Model teacher/student interactions that reflect politeness, warmth, praise and cooperation. 
• Promote cooperation, buddy systems and a willingness in students to help each other.

Professional Responsibilities:

• Maintain accurate data and records when communicating with students, parents and teachers about intervention plans, reasonable accommodations, and progress reports.
• Maintain active affiliation with a professional community while continuing to grow and develop professionally.
• Assist with school admissions and marketing events such as Open House.

Education and Credentials:

• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, Education, or equivalent required. 
• Master’s degree in school psychology or related field in clinical psychology or school counseling preferred.
• Previous experience working in a school setting is preferred.
• Experience in implementing or developing Social Emotional Learning programming is preferred. 

Essential Skills:

• Exhibits strong interpersonal and communication skills. Creates a responsive and productive working relationship with parents, children, teachers, other staff, and the local community through remaining accessible and communicating clearly and concisely.
• Possesses the ability to de-escalate high-emotion situations and find common ground between conflicting viewpoints.
• Utilizes technology to effectively communicate with staff, parents and the administrative team. 
• Demonstrates strong organizational skills, flexibility, and a willingness to continually learn and improve skills.

General Information:

• TRAVEL: This position is shared between two Stratford School campuses. Must be able to travel by motor vehicle to both sites each week (3 days at one site and 2 days at the other).
• The location of each campus is 1323 Great Mall Drive, Milpitas, CA and 1718 Andover Lane, San Jose, CA.
• This position is regular, 12 months, full-time, and exempt. Employees in exempt positions are expected to work as many hours as their responsibilities require, which includes evenings and weekends