SCHOOL COUNSELOR

School Social Worker/Mental Health Professional

Position Purpose:
The School Social Worker/Mental Health Professional position brings unique knowledge and skills to the school system and the student services team. School Social Workers/Mental Health Professionals are trained mental health professionals who can assist with mental health concerns, behavioral concerns, positive behavioral support, academic, and classroom support, consultation with teachers, parents, and administrators as well as provide individual and group counseling/therapy.  School Social Workers/Mental Health Professionals are instrumental in furthering the mission of the schools, which is to provide a setting for teaching, learning, and for the attainment of competence and confidence. School Social Workers/Mental Health Professionals are hired by school districts to enhance the district’s ability to meet its academic mission, especially where home, school, and community collaboration is the key to achieving student success.

Position Location:
This position serves the Vision Program located in Pine City, MN. The Vision Program is one of five St. Croix River Education District (SCRED) student programs serving students from Pine City Public Schools, East Central Public Schools, and Hinckley-Finlayson Public Schools. All students attending this program have an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) designed to support intense social, emotional, or behavioral needs. The program has a high staff to student ratio, places value on educating the whole child, and uses a multi-disciplinary team approach to supporting student needs. In addition, the program has recently moved into a newly renovated facility tailored to meet the unique needs of the students we serve.

Essential Duties:

• MTSS Implementation
  • Promote and assist in effective and efficient school-wide implementation of an MTSS framework for both academics and social emotional learning, in partnership with building administrators and teams
  • Collaborate with the county, school district, and education district to implement a screening process to promote early intervention with students at-risk for mental health problems
  • Participate in the Student Support Team (SST) and/or other data team meetings within the building(s) of assignment
  • Collect information to identify and analyze problems and develop, implement, and evaluate intervention plans
  • Provide consultation to parents and/or teachers regarding social emotional learning and/or academic difficulties, utilizing the SCRED 5-step problem-solving model: Problem Identification, Problem Analysis, Plan Development, Plan Implementation, and Plan Evaluation
  • Assist in conducting needs assessments to support various resource allocation and/or programming decisions
• Social Emotional Learning Assessment and Services
  • Complete screenings to assist students, families and school staff in determining appropriate social emotional and/or mental health supports, both internally and through outside agencies
  • Support families in arranging for services from an outside agency and gather relevant school information to assist in evaluating the effects of treatment as requested
  • Provide direct Social Emotional Learning (SEL) services to individuals, small groups, classrooms, or school-wide, as requested
  • Provide direct counseling services to individuals or groups, as requested
  • Assist in the design and delivery of Extended School Year services for students on IEPs who have mental health needs
  • Provide SEL-related education and consultative services to school staff and families
  • Complete function-based behavior assessments (FBAs), when deemed appropriate by the Problem Solving Team or Student Support Team
  • Assist in the development of Behavior Support Plans (BSPs), in collaboration with staff to write Behavior Support Plans, and track BSPs data with integrity checks
  • Gather and organize data to assist teams in making manifestation determination, when needed
  • Plan and implement professional learning opportunities regarding SEL at SCRED and building(s)/district of assignment as requested
• Crisis Response Services
  • Facilitate crisis response procedures and participate in the school’s crisis team at the discretion of the building administrator
  • Provide consultation in crisis prevention and response
  • Complete student risk assessments when necessary
  • Assist in completing student threat assessment activities when necessary
  • Provide an immediate response to students, families, and school staff in crisis situations and determine when a referral to an outside agency is needed
• School Engagement
  • Assess students’ levels of engagement/withdrawal by monitoring risk factors such as attendance, tardiness, behavioral referrals, poor academic performance, and in-school or out-of-school suspensions
  • Respond on a regular basis to students’ educational needs according to their type and level of risk for disengagement from school
  • Provide regular feedback to students and families about their overall progress in school and in relation to specific risk factors
• Other Duties as Assigned
  • Perform other duties as assigned