School Counselor
The Ellis School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is seeking a part-time School Counselor for the 2024-2025 school year to join our full-time School Counselor as part of our Student Support Team. Ellis is the only all-girls school in Pittsburgh serving students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12, with a mission of educating girls and young women to become bold, authentic, intellectually vibrant changemakers. The School currently serves approximately 400 students evenly distributed across three divisions.
This School Counselor will be responsible for supporting the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff in the Upper School Division of the School, including direct counseling with students, guidance to parents and faculty in the support of their student, collaboration with outside providers, and teaching on health and wellness topics. This is a half-time position on an academic calendar, and will report directly to our full-time School Counselor.
An ideal candidate should have a Masters degree in Social Work, Counseling, or Mental Health Counseling, a license in their respective field, a demonstrated love of working with children and teens, experience working in a school setting, excellent communication and organization skills, and a proven track record as a positive collaborator.
An ideal candidate would possess the following competencies:
- Excellent knowledge and practice of child development and counseling practices for children and adolescents
- Proven ability to work collaboratively as a team player, keeping the student’s needs/challenges/strengths at the center of every decision
- Demonstrated skill in working with parents, faculty, and staff in support of students
- Strong familiarity with health and wellness topics, along with the ability to communicate these topics in the classroom and to the parent community
- Effective knowledge of and comfortability with referral to outside providers and open communication with them to provide continuity of care
- Working knowledge of academic accommodation and neuropsychological testing
- Deep commitment to ethics both in privacy and in best clinical practices for students
- Commitment to one’s own health/wellness, recognizing this is the foundation for effective mental health practices
The Ellis School community pursues, supports, and embraces diversity of all kinds, recognizing the collective strength derived from our individual differences. We are committed to creating a school environment in which all students feel welcome, known, heard, safe, and treated fairly, while establishing ourselves as a leader in equity and justice initiatives.
- We recognize and celebrate the unique value and dignity of every student.
- We commit to doing the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion both internally and externally.
- We foster authentic and reciprocal relationships with families.
- We strive to teach a culturally sustaining curriculum and engage in culturally sustaining instructional practices.
Interested candidates should submit the following materials electronically to Wendy Wu at opportunities@theellisschool.org before May 17, 2024:
- Cover letter
- Resume
- Names and contact information of three professional references
Questions should be directed to Karen Boyer, School Counselor and Health & Wellness Department Chair, at boyerk@theellisschool.org. Additional information about the school can be found on the school website at: https://www.theellisschool.org/page.
