BOARD OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
18 SOUTH PERRY STREET
POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK 12601
RECRUITMENT BULLETIN 24-25-194 • MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELOR -2025-2026 VACANCY • FEBRUARY 2025 • POUGHKEEPSIE MIDDLE SCHOOL
NOTICE OF POSITION
2025-2026 VACANCY
POSITION:
The Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Eric Jay Rosser, is interested in receiving applications from qualified candidates for the position:
MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELOR
2025-2026 VACANCY
POUGHKEEPSIE MIDDLE SCHOOL
*BILINGUAL (SPANISH) PREFERRED*
QUALIFICATIONS:
Candidates must possess a Master’s degree and a New York State School Counselor certificate. Candidates should possess the desired qualities:
- Commitment to Equity: Passionate about closing the achievement gap and ensuring that every child, regardless of background or circumstance, receives an excellent education.
- Leadership: Coaches, mentors, and challenges others to excel despite obstacles and challenging situations.
- Focus on Data-Driven Results: Relentlessly pursues the improvement of student outcomes and a desire to produce quantifiable student achievement gains.
- Innovative Problem-Solving: Approaches work with a sense of possibility and sees challenges as opportunities for creative problem solving; takes initiative to explore issues and find potential innovative solutions.
- Adaptability: Excels in constantly changing environments and adapts flexibly in shifting projects or priorities to meet the needs of a dynamic transformation effort; comfortable with ambiguity and non-routine situations.
- Teamwork: Increases the effectiveness of surrounding teams through collaboration, constant learning and supporting others; sensitive to diversity in all its forms; respects and is committed to learning from others
- Dependability: Does whatever it takes to consistently deliver with high quality under tight deadlines; successfully manages own projects through strong organization, detailed work plans, and balancing of multiple priorities.
- Communication and Customer Service Skills: Communicates clearly and compellingly with diverse stakeholders in both oral and written forms; anticipates and responds to customer needs in a high-quality and courteous manner.
Candidates with prior experience in an urban school district with a large racially and economically diverse population are preferred and encouraged to apply.
DUTIES:
The Poughkeepsie City School District (PCSD) is committed to providing students and parents with pathways to opportunity that will lead to achievement and success. Through student-centered effective and transformational leadership, school and community engagement, and an unrelenting pursuit to achieve greater school outcomes for children, the Poughkeepsie City Schools is focused on developing and growing greater access, equity, opportunity, and quality across PCSD.
The middle school counselor reports to the Director of College Readiness and Workforce Education and the School Principal, and follows the School Counseling Comprehensive Plan as well as ASCA’s mindsets and behaviors student standards. The school counselor plans and provides appropriate services for students in three American School Counseling Association’s (ASCA) domains, Academics, SEL and College and Career and assists in creating 21st century learning environments conducive to the intellectual, physical, social and emotional development of all students. The school counselor works to develop the college and career readiness mindset of middle school students.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Development and Management
- Collects, analyzes and uses process, perception and outcomes data to develop, revise and inform the school counseling program and evaluates the program’s impact on the school’s instructional goals; ?
- Collaborates on the development and management of the comprehensive school counseling program with district and school administrator or designated instructional leader;
- Communicates and shares the goals of the comprehensive school counseling program to stakeholders, including students, families and community partners.
- Develops and maintains a written plan for effective delivery of the school counseling programs based on the PCSD annual student achievement goals and aligned with the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) and National Standards for School Counseling Programs.
Uses the majority of the time (80%) to provide direct services to students through preventive and responsive services, including three service provisions: individual student planning, small group interventions and Tier 1 classroom/push in lessons. The school counselor uses the remaining time in development and management, system support and accountability.?
Preventative and Responsive Services - Collaborates in the design, implementation and assessment of the social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum.
- Utilizes responsive counseling, initiating individual and group sessions for students’ personal, social and academic concerns;
- Consults with families and staff to appraise student needs and interests and to discuss appropriate recommendations for educational options.
- Plans, coordinates and provides Tier 1 classroom/pish in counseling sessions to meet the identified counseling competencies in the areas of academic achievement, career and educational development, and personal and social development.
- Assesses student needs and makes Tier 3 referrals to appropriate school resource personnel, social agencies, community agencies and alternative programs;
- Supports students and the school community during crisis situations as needed.
Individual Student Planning
- Meets with students at risk (Red/Yellows) individually to provide academic interventions and follows up with goal setting and data on intervention’s effectiveness.
- Prepares students for the transition to the high school by providing academic supports and interventions, scheduling and course options and presentations on how to be successful in high school;
- Plans and coordinates programs such as career fairs, test preparation, improved/perfect attendance celebrations and other extensions of the counseling program
- Uses individual student planning activities and classroom guidance to assist students in navigating educational and community experiences that support their needs and develop their potential.
- Collaborates with parents/guardians and educators to assist students with educational and career planning.
- Advocates for appropriate programming for English Language Learners and Students with Exceptionalities.
System Support
- Uses responsive counseling strategies to establish relationships and collaborate with educators, students, families and community partners; these strategies should reflect recognition of and respect for each individual and promote an understanding and appreciation of diverse populations and cultures.
- Assists families in obtaining Tier 3 services for their children through an appropriate referral and follow-up process.
- Serves as liaison between the social services agencies.
- Assists teachers in understanding their students needs, including providing and interpreting student data.
- Provides parents with informational sessions on Socioemotional Learning (SEL), how to support children be successful Academically and in College and Career Readiness.
Accountability
- Conducts at minimum a yearly program self-audit, using the ASCA rubric, to review the extent and quality of program implementation;
- Prepares and submits a variety of reports and data, to ensure fulfillment of established program requirements.
- Uses all available data, including academic grades and interventions, discipline referrals and attendance data, to identify students in need and to deliver services.
- Interprets tests, student data and other assessment results appropriately within the counseling environment for the purpose of developing and implementing academic plans for individual students.
- Maintains track of Direct Service Provisions (Academic Counseling and interventions, classroom lessons and group sessions) using the Google Calendar.
- Maintains updated ASCA membership and attends in-service professional development related to school counseling best practices.
- Share data with supervisors in a timely manner and as requested
APPOINTMENT:
Appointment will be made by the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the Superintendent following assessment of training, experience, certifications, credentials and evaluation of service. Personal interviews shall be conducted where appropriate.
SALARY: In accordance with the PPSTA contract, $64,681 - $100,293
FINAL DATE TO APPLY:
OPEN UNTIL FILLED
The Poughkeepsie City School District is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, disability, age, or marital status; nor does it apply any other arbitrary measure which would tend to deprive persons of their constitutional rights.