Mental Health Support Specialist - Baker-Butler Elementary School

Mental Health Support Specialist Baker-Butler Elementary School

2026-27 School year

Are you looking to work in a school division where students are engaged in authentic, challenging, and relevant learning experiences, becoming lifelong contributors and leaders in our dynamic and diverse society? In Albemarle County Public Schools, we work together as a team to end the predictive value of race, class, gender, and special capacities for our children’s success through high-quality teaching and learning for all.

We seek to build relationships with families and communities to ensure that every student succeeds. We will know every student!

• Understands and utilizes effective therapeutic strategies for adapting the general and social curriculum to meet the needs of individual students.
• Works collaboratively with community agencies and outside therapists for students and incorporates techniques and interventions practiced within the outside therapy sessions when appropriate and understands the reciprocal relationship of sharing confidential information with these individuals.
• Provides mental health consultation to staff members and caregivers at assigned schools, including initial assessment of needs and referral to community-based mental health supports.
• Facilitates annual threat assessment training with new administrators and student support service team members (counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, etc.).
• Provides support to school-level teams to complete the threat assessment process.
• Contributes regularly to the school-based critical incident responses to assist school communities with planning, resources, and grief/loss support.
• Conducts Return to Learn training (re-entry plans) for school personnel in support of students returning to school following psychiatric treatment and in need of school-based mental health supports.
• Prepares and utilizes assessment methodologies that have been adapted for individual students as identified including physical/emotional/social/behavioral adaptations to meet a student's individual needs; incorporates multiple sources of evidence and clear recommendations for improving services on an ongoing basis.
• Demonstrates knowledge of school and community resources available to assist students and families, while actively sharing knowledge of resources with other colleagues.
• Assists students and their families in gaining access to formal and informal school and community resources; identifies and differentiates appropriate resources; establishes follow-up activities to facilitate effective utilization of resources.
• Consults and collaborates with other resources (e.g., school psychologist, family support workers, school counselors) to align efforts by gathering and giving information on a case and in establishing and planning for respective roles in the modification of the student’s behavior or social/emotional being.
• Implements suicide prevention programs, such as Signs of Suicide, Sources of Strength, etc., including training, consultation, and data collection/analysis.
• Includes use of data measures in the development and implementation of interventions.
• Demonstrates specialized skills in crisis intervention, assessment of crisis situations, and utilization of appropriate intervention strategies for de-escalation and prevention of crisis situations within the educational setting.
• Continually assesses and takes a leadership role in communicating problem-solving on such issues as attendance, diversity, mental health, suicide prevention/awareness, behavior management, delinquency, crisis intervention, homelessness, child abuse, neglect, and the importance of confidentiality with staff to best meet the needs of students.
• Makes home visits on evenings and over weekends as needed.
• Maintains appropriate documentation of family/teacher communications displaying high priority of communication between home and school.
• Observes and follows all Albemarle County Public Schools policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned by the Albemarle County Public Schools administration.

Demonstrates extensive skill and knowledge in Counseling /…