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Posted: 22-May-23
Location: Washington, D.C.
Type: Full Time
Georgetown Visitation, founded in 1799, is an all-girls high school rooted in the Roman Catholic faith and Salesian tradition, committed to educating young women from diverse backgrounds. We are a faith-centered community dedicated to educational excellence, enriched by co-curricular and service programs. We guide our students as they integrate the search for truth with the pursuit of knowledge and dedicate their God-given gifts to making the world a better place.
Visitation is currently inviting applications for a full-time Personal Counselor. Visitation’s three-person personal counseling team supports student well-being and healthy adolescent development through a comprehensive program that focuses on each grade level's specific needs. This program, which works in tandem with our college counseling program, includes group and individual meetings with students, as well as events and guest speakers.
Whether counseling a student one-on-one or working with freshman and sophomore counseling groups, our three counselors operate from a wellness model that addresses intellectual, spiritual, creative, physical, and social components of the whole person, using reflection, discussion, and activities. They work to involve all parts of the school community in fostering healthy development and emphasize a collaborative approach with families.
Visitation takes a student-centered, strengths-based approach with each student. Students are assigned a personal counselor at the beginning of their Visitation journey and they maintain this counseling relationship for the duration of their time at Visitation. Embracing student identities, our counseling team works with students in group and individual settings to empower them as students, friends, teammates, and leaders.
The school seeks a Personal Counselor who is warm and supportive; has strong organizational skills; is creative and flexible; can work well independently and as part of a team; and inspires and relates well to students. The ideal candidate is a strong supporter of a Catholic, all-girls education and embraces the Salesian mission of “Live Jesus.” As a representative of our school, the Personal Counselor is a role model for our students.
Student Support: The Personal Counseling program at Visitation provides counseling and personal support to students. The Personal Counselor works with co-Counselors in service to 510 students.
- The Personal Counselor designs and implements a counseling curriculum for students addressing the academic and emotional needs of adolescents.
- The Personal Counselor facilitates counseling groups once an academic cycle.
- The Personal Counselor organizes and facilitates small group and individual counseling sessions with students as needed.
Faculty & Staff Partnership: Counselors work collaboratively with members of the school community (teachers, the Academic Dean, Dean of Student Life, School Nurse, etc.) to address students of concern and to share information about individual and collective student well-being. Counselors attend regularly scheduled faculty meetings, grade level meetings, and student services team meetings. Personal counselors collaborate with the College Counseling Office in writing college recommendations for seniors.
Parent & External Partnership/s:
Counselors are a resource for parents.
- Personal Counselors discuss parents’ academic, social, emotional questions and concerns about their daughters.
- Personal Counselors design and implement a variety of parent and family programs throughout the academic year, including a variety of assemblies and community conversations.
Counselors partner with external care providers to support families.
- Personal Counselors make referrals to outside agencies and specialists as needed and ensure appropriate documentation of therapeutic relationships, release forms, etc. to effectively care for students on campus.
- Personal counselors maintain contact with outside specialists caring for students.
- Personal Counselors attend professional development workshops to remain current on topics related to adolescent development, as well as monthly meetings of the Washington Area Independent School Counselors.
Qualifications:
Academic and professional experiences:
- Successful candidates must have a Master’s degree in school counseling, or a related field.
- A minimum of five years of relevant counseling experience in a Catholic or independent school is preferred; previous experience supporting and teaching young women in an all-girls learning environment is ideal.
Interpersonal competencies:
- Successful candidates must be willing to work closely with colleagues and students in a dynamic, collaborative setting.
- Candidates should display empathy and cultivate positive relationships, particularly with young people.
- Candidates should possess discretion and maintain high standards of professionalism, to include responsibility for ongoing professional development and training (supported by the school and of individual professional interest) in standards of confidentiality, collaboration, mandatory reporting expectations, etc.
- Time management, flexibility to respond to emergent situations, and the ability to make good judgements and quick decisions are essential.
- Outstanding oral and written communication is essential; collaboration with students, parents, faculty, and school leaders is ongoing.
Technological competencies: Candidates should be comfortable with school data management systems, Google apps, MS applications, etc.
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to their age, color, disability status, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, sex, veteran status, or any other class protected by state or federal law. As a Catholic school, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School reserves the right to use religion as a hiring criterion for selected positions, as permitted by law. Employment offers are contingent on the satisfactory outcome of a standard background screening.
Proof of vaccination is required for this position.
