The Director of Guidance is responsible for providing organizational, instructional and counseling leadership for grades 7-12.
The Director of Guidance will ensure that effective 7-12 social emotional education, support services, and academic and post-secondary guidance enable all students to fully access the academic curriculum and social development intrinsic to the district’s mission. The ideal candidate is student-centered, data-driven, and committed to equity, access, and the success of every learner. This is a 12 month position.
The primary goal of the Director of School Counseling is to ensure that the support and programming meets the academic and social needs of each pupil as well as the curricular needs as established by the Silver Lake Regional School District and the Massachusetts Department of Education Frameworks. To accomplish this goal, the Director of Guidance shall work cooperatively with the other department leaders, teachers, Principals, Central Office administrators.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s Degree.
• A minimum of three years of successful counseling experience or its equivalent.
• Specialized knowledge; ability to secure cooperation and participation of educators; skill as an educator; and demonstrated leadership and initiative.
• Administrative ability to organize and assign tasks.
• Massachusetts Educator License in related area
• Massachusetts Educator License as Supervisor/Director or Principal/Asst Principal
• Work year and salary is outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Silver Lake Regional School Committee and the SLAA

• Provides counseling leadership and guidance to the department in the ongoing review and improvement of counseling practices.
• Researches, reviews and recommends social emotional learning programs and practices and works with leadership teams to select and implement best practices.
• Remain current in best practices in subject matter and evaluate and implement techniques, strategies and methods of learning and support within the department.
• Coordinates 7-12 guidance and social emotional learning continuum.
• Develop, coordinate, implement and evaluate designated curriculum areas.
• Develop long-range plans for curriculum evaluation (formative and summative) and revision as needed.
• Interview counselor candidates and make appropriate recommendations to the principals.
• Investigate interdisciplinary relationships and cooperate with other department leaders in their implementation.
• Monitor student progress and intervene with support systems as needed, including individual and small group counseling.
• Collaborate with families, teachers, administrators, and community resources to support student success.
• Serve as the test coordinator for MCAS, PSAT, SAT, and AP exams. Including organizing logistics, ensuring staff training, managing secure materials, maintaining compliance with testing regulations, and communicating testing information to students and families and the broader community through SC presentations.
• Analyze test results and other data to inform school improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with the principals and curriculum coordinators to develop and build the school’s annual master schedule.
• Oversee the student course selection and placement process, including communication with students, families, and staff.
• Assist the administration in the process of evaluating counselors.
• Confer with other curriculum leaders and staff to assure system wide program coordination.
• Conduct regular department meetings with counselors.
• Meet regularly as a member of the Secondary Leadership team, chaired by the Assistant Superintendent to:
• evaluate present programs;
• discuss new materials and programs;
• review progress of new programs in each school;
• discuss budgetary needs of existing and future programs;
• plan for in-service workshops; and
• assure system-wide program coordination.
• Meet regularly as a member of the Instructional Leadership Team, chaired by the building principal(s).
• Attend pertinent meetings and conferences,such as the Professional Development Committee, Secondary Leadership Team, School Committee when requested, job-alike groups, and other training or meetings on request of the Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee.
• Participate in school and/or department matter data teams.
• Serve as a contact person with the community through programs and as a representative of the schools.
• Plan in-service workshops and demonstrations for department and, where appropriate, non-department members in conjunction with the system-wide in-service committee.
• This position will have a supervisory component.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Superintendent of Schools or their designee.
• Provides and oversees specific guidance services within various school based programs, i.e. guidance in the CTE program, and all post secondary planning processes with students, families, administrators, and faculty/staff.
• Effectively celebrate students through the lens of the counseling department through events such as award and scholarship celebrations, interest, grade level, or post secondary community events.
• Support the development and implementation of college and career readiness programming, including information sessions, college fairs, and FAFSA workshops.