The Crescent Academy is seeking a compassionate, skilled, and student-centered School Counselor to support students in our Elementary and Middle School programs.
The School Counselor will help students develop the academic habits, social-emotional skills, resilience, self-awareness, and decision-making abilities needed to thrive in school and beyond. The counselor will work closely with students, families, teachers, and school leadership to identify needs early, coordinate appropriate supports, and strengthen a safe, respectful, and caring school community.
The successful candidate will provide a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate school counseling program that supports academic, career-awareness, and social-emotional development while reflecting the Academy's mission and values. Full-time employment is preferred; qualified part-time candidates may also be considered based on school needs and availability.
Key Responsibilities
Comprehensive School Counseling Program
- Develop, implement, and continuously improve a school counseling program aligned with student needs, the Academy's goals, and recognized professional school-counseling practices.
- Provide developmentally appropriate services across the academic, career-awareness, and social-emotional domains for elementary and middle school students.
- Use student, family, teacher, attendance, behavioral, and academic information to identify priorities, plan interventions, and evaluate the effectiveness of counseling supports.
- Maintain an annual counseling plan and schedule that balances preventive programming, responsive services, individual student needs, family collaboration, and schoolwide responsibilities.
Individual & Small-Group Student Support
- Provide brief, solution-focused individual counseling and small-group counseling for school-related concerns such as adjustment, friendships, grief, family changes, anxiety, emotional regulation, motivation, conflict, attendance, organization, and academic stress.
- Help students identify strengths, set goals, develop coping and problem-solving skills, make responsible decisions, and advocate appropriately for themselves.
- Establish clear limits of confidentiality, maintain professional boundaries, and explain when safety or legal obligations require information to be shared.
- Recognize when a student needs services beyond the appropriate scope of school counseling and coordinate referral to qualified outside professionals or community resources in partnership with the family and school leadership.
Classroom Lessons & Preventive Programming
- Deliver age-appropriate classroom guidance lessons and workshops on topics such as emotional literacy, self-regulation, healthy relationships, conflict resolution, empathy, responsible decision-making, digital citizenship, study skills, organization, goal setting, and help-seeking.
- Develop preventive programming that strengthens belonging, positive behavior, resilience, personal responsibility, character, and respectful treatment of others.
- Support students during transitions into school, between grade levels, from elementary to middle school, and toward high school readiness.
- Partner with teachers to reinforce counseling lessons and help students apply skills consistently across classroom, lunch, recess, activity, and community settings.
Academic, Attendance & Behavioral Support
- Collaborate with students, families, and teachers to address barriers to learning, including attendance concerns, incomplete work, weak study habits, low motivation, peer difficulties, classroom adjustment, and school avoidance.
- Help students develop organizational, time-management, executive-functioning, test-preparation, and self-advocacy skills appropriate to their grade level.
- Participate in student-support, intervention, attendance, behavioral, and problem-solving meetings and help develop practical, measurable support plans.
- Monitor student progress after intervention and communicate with the appropriate adults when additional support, adjustment, or referral is needed.
Crisis Response, Safety & Child Protection
- Respond promptly and calmly to student crises, safety concerns, significant emotional distress, bullying, threats, suspected abuse or neglect, and other urgent situations in accordance with school procedures and applicable law.
- Conduct timely risk screening within the counselor's professional role, immediately involve school leadership when safety concerns arise, and coordinate emergency or outside support when required.
- Fulfill mandated-reporting obligations and maintain required documentation while protecting student dignity and confidentiality to the greatest extent permitted.
- Participate in crisis planning, post-crisis support, threat-assessment or safety processes, and school re-entry planning as assigned and within professional competence.
Family, Teacher & Community Collaboration
- Build respectful, trusting relationships with parents and guardians and communicate clearly about student strengths, concerns, interventions, referrals, and strategies for support at home.
- Consult with teachers and school leaders regarding classroom concerns, student behavior, social-emotional needs, family circumstances, and appropriate supports while maintaining confidentiality.
- Connect families with appropriate school, community, medical, behavioral-health, social-service, and crisis resources when needs exceed what the school can provide.
- Support family education through workshops, resource sharing, or consultations on child development, transitions, mental wellness, healthy boundaries, school success, and related topics.
Student Advocacy, Inclusion & School Climate
- Advocate for equitable access to counseling, academic support, enrichment, leadership opportunities, and other school resources for all students.
- Support students with disabilities, learning differences, language needs, cultural differences, family transitions, and other circumstances that may affect school participation or success.
- Promote a school climate grounded in dignity, kindness, accountability, inclusion, safety, and respect for the Academy community.
- Help address bullying, harassment, social exclusion, peer conflict, and harmful behavior through prevention, intervention, restorative conversations, and appropriate referral or discipline collaboration.
Records, Data & Professional Responsibilities
- Maintain accurate, timely, secure, and confidential records of counseling contacts, parent communication, referrals, interventions, safety actions, and follow-up, consistent with school policy and applicable law.
- Use data appropriately to identify student needs, monitor trends, evaluate interventions, and recommend program improvements without compromising confidentiality.
- Participate in staff meetings, student-support meetings, parent conferences, professional development, school events, and required training.
- Follow professional ethical standards, school policies, mandated-reporting requirements, privacy expectations, and all applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
Required Qualifications
- Master's degree in School Counseling, Counseling, Psychology, Social Work, or a closely related field from an accredited institution.
- Graduate preparation and supervised experience appropriate to providing school-based counseling services to children and adolescents.
- Demonstrated understanding of child and adolescent development, school adjustment, social-emotional learning, crisis response, confidentiality, mandated reporting, and ethical practice.
- Strong interpersonal, listening, consultation, documentation, organization, and written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively and respectfully with students, families, educators, administrators, outside providers, and community partners.
- Commitment to the mission, values, policies, and student-centered educational environment of The Crescent Academy.
- Ability to successfully complete all applicable background checks, clearances, reference verification, and employment requirements for work in a school setting.
Preferred Qualifications
- New York State School Counselor certification, eligibility for certification, or progress toward an appropriate school-counseling credential.
- Prior experience as a school counselor, school social worker, child or adolescent counselor, student-support specialist, or related professional in an elementary or middle school setting.
- Experience providing brief individual counseling, small-group counseling, classroom guidance lessons, crisis response, family consultation, and referrals to outside services.
- Knowledge of multi-tiered student supports, attendance intervention, restorative practices, positive behavior supports, trauma-informed practice, and culturally responsive counseling.
- Experience working in a private, faith-based, Islamic, independent, or community-centered school environment.
- Current training in child-abuse identification and reporting, suicide prevention, threat assessment, crisis intervention, or related school-safety areas.
Knowledge, Skills & Professional Attributes
- Warm, approachable, calm, and trustworthy presence with children and adolescents.
- Sound professional judgment and the ability to balance empathy, confidentiality, safety, accountability, and timely communication.
- Ability to distinguish school counseling from long-term psychotherapy, diagnosis, or services that require outside clinical treatment.
- Strong follow-through, discretion, reliability, punctuality, and attention to detail.
- Ability to remain composed during difficult conversations, crises, family concerns, and emotionally sensitive situations.
- Commitment to collaboration, continuous improvement, appropriate supervision, and responsible use of professional feedback.
Why Join The Crescent Academy
- Make a direct and meaningful impact on the academic, social, emotional, and character development of elementary and middle school students.
- Help shape a growing student-support program within a mission-centered school community.
- Work collaboratively with educators, families, and school leaders who care deeply about student well-being and achievement.
- Serve in an environment that values faith, knowledge, compassion, responsibility, belonging, and service.
Position Details
- Job title: School Counselor - Elementary & Middle School.
- Job type: Part-time preferred, with ability to grow to full-time over time.
- Compensation: Based on qualifications, experience, credentials, and assigned schedule.
- Work setting: In person at school.
- Work location: The Crescent Academy, 1112 Broad Street, Endicott, New York.
- Schedule: Primarily during school hours, with occasional family meetings, staff meetings, training, or school events outside the regular student day.
- Reports to: Principal or designee.
- Employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion of applicable background checks, clearances, reference verification, and required employment documentation.
Equal Opportunity & Reasonable Accommodation
The Crescent Academy is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, performance, mission-related role requirements, and organizational needs. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for qualified individuals to perform the essential functions of the position, consistent with applicable law.
Pay: $18.00 per hour
Education:
Work Location: In person
