College Pathway Counselor, High School

College Pathway Counselor (RHS Campuses and RVA)

The goal of this position is to develop, implement and promote activities that support student participation in a high school pathway that leads them to post-secondary success in a career, military service or college post-secondary academic program, such as a trade school, 2 or 4 year college, or university.

Essential functions of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Providing a system of counseling and management to help students make appropriate career and academic decisions.
• Working collaboratively with school counselors, social workers and all staff for post-secondary planning.
• Identifying high risk students and assessing potential barriers that could undermine their academic or career success.
• Working collaboratively with students and families to develop a comprehensive post-secondary plan that aligns with the identified college or career related interests.
• Establishing relationships and collaborating with local resources, businesses, post-secondary institutions and military school recruiters for the purposes of: dual enrollments, post-secondary applications, financial aid applications, scholarship applications.
• Planning, recruiting and coordinating post-secondary institution college visits, and career related field trips and college fairs.
• Creating and delivering professional development sessions for staff related to Career Readiness Indicators and platforms used to track the indicators.
• Preparing data reports as requested by administrators.
• Conducting workshops with students and parents on a variety of topics, including but not exclusive to: applying to college, financial aid, career/employment information, military resources.
• Planning and publicizing the career center's programs and events such as workshops, job fairs, orientation sessions, parent informational sessions, etc.
• Collaborating with faculty, staff and other student services divisions to help achieve school-wide goals and contribute to its long-range planning.
• Participating in assigned committee meetings.
• Performing other duties as assigned by the supervising administrators.

Qualification requirements include:

• Master's Degree in School Counseling or other relevant degree.
• Experience working with post secondary planning.
• Experience working with high school students in an urban setting.
• Current Pennsylvania Certificate as a Secondary School Counselor or other relevant certificate and required professional development.

Other skills and abilities include:

• Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental or PDE regulations.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely in written or oral formats.
• Ability to write comprehensive evaluative reports and correspondence.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from administration, teachers, parents, service providers and the general public.
• Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret a variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Ability to apply knowledge of current research and theory to the guidance program.
• Ability to apply advanced problem-solving skills.
• Ability to plan and implement conferences to discuss recommendations based on district and program objectives and the needs and abilities of students.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with students, peers, parents and community.
• Ability to use appropriate language and accompanying techniques with adolescents on one to one bases as well as in groups.
• Ability to work in a demanding service oriented environment and deal with constant interruptions.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize tasks and make work related decisions.
• Ability to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements and Board of Education policies.

Physical demands include:

• Continuously required to sit and talk or hear.
• Occasionally required to repeat the same hand, arm or finger motion many times.
• Required to attend meetings in the evening and at other locations.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision such as ability to read handwritten or typed material, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work environment characteristics include:

• Usually quiet noise level.
• Frequently required to interact with the parents, public and other staff.
• Requires meeting multiple demands from several people and exhibiting good human relation skills including courtesy, tact and patience.
• Directly responsible for the safety, well-being and work output of students.

Terms of employment are as per terms and conditions set forth in the contract between the Reading Education Association, PSEA/NEA and the Reading School District.