The School counselor supports the health and well-being of students through individual student and small group work, triage, and close collaboration with teachers, advisors, and administrators. The successful counselor thrives working with a globally diverse student body and commits to making a
positive impact on the lives of students through personal and differentiated relationships and seeks to ensure that students feel a sense of belonging in the community. In keeping with an integrated approach to student wellness, the counselor supports faculty and parents in their work with children, coordinates with mental health professionals in the community, builds and implements grade level programming focused on social-emotional learning and other important mental health topics, and in conjunction with the other members of the Student Support Team, coordinates mental health accommodations to work towards student success and growth. Though this role is not supervisory, the counselor, who reports to the Elementary School Director, is expected to be fully involved in all aspects of the School community.
Classification Summary
This is a full-time, academic year, staff position that comes with a competitive salary, abundant professional development opportunities, and a generous benefits package including tuition remission for admissions eligible children.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Provide direct service, including crisis counseling, time-limited interventions, and assessment for triage and referral purposes for those students struggling with social, emotional, mental health or behavioral challenges.
Contribute to an overall school climate that promotes healthy adolescent development, student wellness and the school’s mission and vision.
Maintain an awareness of overall mental health of the US student body.
Work with students and families if needed to make referrals for additional support, and coordinate and consult with outside care teams of those students receiving mental health services outside of school.
Stay up to date on relevant professional development and provide education on relevant social emotional topics to students and faculty.
Keep current with laws governing confidentiality as they pertain to adolescents and mental health services in schools.
Assist in the development of school programs to promote wellness, safety, and resilience by reinforcing communication and social skills, problem solving, anger management, self-regulation, self-determination, and optimism.
Assist in crisis situations by providing leadership and/or direct services.
Maintain documentation as required by State Law and Health Services policies and procedures.
Develop and facilitate family education through interactive workshops and presentations.
Assist, when appropriate, in transitioning students and their families into the OES community, between grade levels, and between divisions.
Engage in the co-curricular life of the school to be known and recognized by students.
Teach Elementary School SEL curriculum, as deemed appropriate for this role.
Work closely with advisors, teachers, learning resource coordinator, international student support coordinator to assist students who have been assessed as needing additional academic andemotional support.
Identify and ensure effective communication to administration and Student Support Team regarding any at-risk student.
Help facilitate and ensure effective communication and coordination between all parts of the school community for those students with psychological, psychiatric, and/or mental health needs.
Attend and participate in weekly team meetings to identify and support students of concern.
Engage in professional growth and development opportunities.
Serve as consultant to faculty, advisors, and administrators regarding the social/emotional needs of students.
Be a trusted, available, and reliable resource for parents and guardians and provide families with information about and strategies on adolescent development and parenting adolescents.
Maintain an updated list of counseling referral sources for students and families.
Minimum Qualifications:
MA/MS in school counseling or psychology or LPC.
Three years age-appropriate teaching or counseling experience.
Experience with crisis intervention and assessing suicidality.
Familiarity with state laws regarding child abuse, available state, county and local services, test batteries and interpreting their results.
Training in and experience with a range of diagnostic and treatment options for school population.
IT skills: general digital literacy, intermediate to advanced MS Office Suite, database skills, web applications including Google Docs, Zoom or Skype, etc. as appropriate to job duties, flexibility to learn as digital tools evolve.
Intercultural competency, demonstrated experience and skill in working with students from diverse ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds and a demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Willingness to work beyond the school day and week to meet student needs.
Ability to pass a criminal background check and drug screen.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience in an independent school setting.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Knowledge of legal standards regarding compliance with state and federal laws, ability to maintain appropriate confidentiality.
Organizational skills, ability to effectively set priorities, be flexible, and work independently.
Interpersonal skills, ability to create responsive, caring and appropriate relationships with students, parents and colleagues.
Ability to generate and implement innovative ideas for engaging and working with students.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, ability to communicate complex information about students in a respectful and clear manner.
Essential Physical Abilities
Clarity of speech and hearing or other communication capabilities; with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to discern verbal conversation and to communicate effectively on the telephone and in person.
Visual acuity; with or without reasonable accommodation, permits the employee to comprehend written work, prepare and review documents, organize documents and materials, and observe classroom or student activities.
Manual dexterity; with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to perform repetitive hand/wrist/arm motions and to operate a computer and office equipment.
Personal mobility, flexibility, and balance with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to work in an office/classroom/school environment.
Lifting or moving objects that weigh up to 50 lbs.
Job tasks require without reasonable accommodation, climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, pushing, pulling, lifting, or grasping.
Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
Must be able to access and navigate all areas of the school and other facilities as needed.
Compensation: Annual salary commensurate with education and experience plus benefits
In addition to the responsibilities outlined above, all faculty and staff are required to abide by the school’s policies and procedures set forth in the Employee Handbook. The School’s administration reserves the right to change or add to this job description at any time.
Revised 3/1/2026
Riverstone International School is an equal opportunity employer.
