School Counselor Jobs

About Alliance College-ready Public Schools

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools is one of the largest and most successful nonprofit public charter school networks in the nation, operating 26 high-performing, public charter middle and high schools that educate nearly 13,000 scholars from Los Angeles’ most underserved communities. Alliance schools have been recognized as among the best in the nation by US News & World Report, Newsweek, the U.S. Department of Education, and the California Department of Education. Since opening its first school in 2004, 95% of Alliance scholars have graduated from high school and been accepted to college. We strive to truly change the life trajectories of our scholars and communities. Now is the time to join our collaborative community to make long-lasting change across Los Angeles.

Role Summary

Alliance Counselors at Middle Schools and High Schools are responsible for providing a comprehensive school counseling program that is preventative in design, developmental in implementation, and supports Alliance scholars in the areas of academic achievement, college planning and matriculation, career exploration, and personal and social development. Alliance counselors serve as advocates on campus who provide support and assists in the communication between each scholar and their teachers, administrators, parents, coaches, and prospective supplemental/enrichment programs.

Essential Responsibilities

Counselors at the Middle and High school levels will differ. Including but are not limited to:

Provide guidance to support school completion

• Assist in ensuring proper and accurate scholar schedules and making appropriate schedule changes as needed.
• Use data to develop and inform the development of the school counseling program and evaluate the program’s impact on the school’s instruction and operating goals.
• Provide direct preventative and responsive services to scholars, including individual scholar planning, evaluate scholars’ graduation status and inform scholars of their status towards promotion/graduation.
• As needed, develop and/or support development of 504 plans, participate in Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings, and contribute in the development of scholars’ Individual Transition Plan (ITP).
• Facilitate and/or participate in Scholar Success Tea m (SST) meetings/Grade Level Team meetings/Culture Team meetings.
• Provide resources and information to assist scholars to develop a rigorous academic course schedule, aligned with scholars’ skills and interests.
• Inform scholars and their parents/guardians of test results and their implication for educational planning
• Support the registration process and use data to support scholar academic planning.
• Counsel, motivate, and work with scholars who are underachieving or need additional academic support.

Provide guidance to support transition to high school, early college exploration (Middle School only) and college matriculation and completion (High School only) aligned with scholar personal interests and strengths

• Connecting to college prep and other enrichment programs
• Partner with the Matriculation and Alumni Supports Home Office team in overseeing general alumni tracking and reporting requests.
• Support and create college-going culture across the school at all grade levels by:
• Engage scholars and families in early financial aid awareness and education
• Promoting opportunities for extracurricular involvement and leadership development
• Providing early and frequent exposure to diverse college/ university options (including UCs, CSUs, CCCs, HBCUs, H SIs, private colleges, women's colleges, small liberal arts colleges, etc.)
• Develop and implement programs related to financial readiness for all grade levels:
• Supporting families through the college application and matriculation process
• Coordinate career awareness activities across all grade levels such as career fairs and guest speakers.
• Celebrating all postsecondary pathway choices
• Provide opportunities for scholarships and financial aid completion

Support personal development of scholars

• Consult and coordinate the referral process with other school and Alliance personnel including school psychologists, social workers, administrators, teachers and other community resources/agencies.
• Consult and collaborate with teachers, staff and parents/guardians regarding scholar developmental (academic and socioemotional) needs.
• Plan, coordinate and/or provide classroom guidance sessions to meet the identified counseling competencies in the areas of academic achievement, career and educational development, and socioemotional needs and development to assist scholars in developing decision-making skills and identifying life goals.
• Provide a trauma informed approach to behavioral and socioemotional guidance and support.
• Assess scholar needs and make referrals to appropriate Alliance resources, social agencies, community agencies and alternative programs in consultation with their parents/guardians.
• Conduct structured, goal oriented, and data driven guidance to meet the identified needs of individuals or groups of scholars.
• Appropriate identification of students social and emotional needs

Provide systems support

• Provide professional development programs for school staff on topics related to the school counseling program and supporting scholar achievement.
• Use Alliance technology platforms (e.g. PowerSchool, Naviance, Google Suite) to inform and support the counseling program.
• Actively participate in Alliance provided meetings that foster the development and improvement of school counseling.
• In conjunction with other staff, act as an advocate for scholars as appropriate.
• Collaborate with Parent Engagement Specialists to provide opportunities for parent education programs.
• Participate (with the administration and faculty) as a team member in school committees.
• Build community resources to promote scholars’ academic, personal/socioemotional, college and career success.
• Other duties as assigned by the Principal.

THE STRONGEST CANDIDATES WILL

• Expertise. Have a strong and comprehensive school counseling expertise to drive scholar academic and personal development so they are able to thrive in an environment of high expectations and collaboration.
• Relationship-Building. Have strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills with both scholars and adults.
• Mindset. Hold a growth mindset and commit to continuously honing their counseling craft.
• Believe. Hold the belief that all scholars, regardless of their economic or social demographics, deserve a quality education and can earn a college degree.
• Culture. Demonstrate an ability to develop a positive, achievement-oriented, supportive, and collaborative culture of high expectations that motivates and inspires scholars to learn at college-preparatory levels.
• Social Justice. Desire to be a part of Alliance’s social justice mission, integrating anti-racist counseling practices in systemically underserved communities in Los Angeles.

Minimum Qualifications

• Possess a valid California Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPS) with an authorization in School Counseling
• A Master’s Degree in School Counseling, Education, Psychology, Social Work, or another related field

Compensation And Benefits

• Retirement: Participation in the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS).
• Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision plan options are covered at 100% of monthly premiums for individual employees and at least $1,000 per month towards medical family plan premiums.
• Recognition. Counseling Provider of the Year provides special recognition and compensation to a provider who demonstrates their dedication and exceptional ability to engage scholars.
• Professional Development: At Alliance, we believe in supporting school counselor growth and provide substantial school-based and network-wide professional development support including professional development and support for new hires introduces the Alliance culture and helps to build school counseling skills.
• Paid Leave: Counselors have five weeks of paid leave during school breaks, plus sick leave that accrues at one day per month.
• Compensation: Alliance provides a competitive salary for teachers. Based on relevant prior work experience, our salary range for this role is $72,500 - $114,564 . Please click HERE for more information on our salary schedule.

To apply, submit your resume and application below . Please note that only candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.

** PLEASE NOTE: Alliance College-Ready Public Schools requires that all team members be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the safety of our students, family, and staff. Team members may apply to seek a medical exemption. Regardless of your current vaccination status, our team can advise you on how to fulfill this important requirement so that you can start the position in a timely way. **

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they match every criteria. If you think you meet some of the qualifications, but don't necessarily check every box in the job description, we encourage you to still apply. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Staffing Team at [email protected] .

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools are tuition-free public charter schools that do not discriminate against any scholar, parent, community member, or staff member on the basis of actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. See where our schools are in Los Angeles

Map Key:

• Red Dots: Middle Schools
• Green Dots: High Schools
• Yellow Dot: Alliance Home Office