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Essential Functions: * Social-Emotional and Mental Health Support * Provide individual and small-group school counseling within the scope of the counselor’s credential, training, and professional role. * Provide counseling supports and services as prescribed within a student's 504 Plan and/or IEP (I kept this more general here, as we share specific service names in the Student Supports & Services section) * Meet with students to identify social-emotional, behavioral, academic, family, and environmental barriers affecting school success. * Provide short-term, solution-focused counseling and connect students and families with appropriate community-based mental health or social-service providers. * Respond to student crises and participate in suicide-risk assessment, safety planning, mandated reporting, and school crisis-response procedures. * Serve as a resource to teachers and staff in understanding and responding to student behavior, emotional needs, and patterns of disengagement. * Participate in Student Success Teams, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, attendance interventions, re-engagement efforts, and other student-support processes. * Support schoolwide practices that promote belonging, emotional regulation, healthy relationships, restorative problem-solving, and a positive school culture. * Develop counseling supports collaboratively with students, staff, and families rather than relying solely on standardized or top-down interventions. Student Supports and Services: * Participate in the identification, development, implementation, and monitoring of Section 504 plans. * Collaborate with special education personnel and participate in Individualized Education Program meetings when appropriate. * Provides specialized Individualized Education Program (IEP) services, including Educationally Related Mental Health Services (ERMHS) Individual and Group Counseling, Parent Counseling and Training, and Vocational Guidance/Counseling/Assessment, in accordance with IEP requirements, timelines, and applicable state and federal regulations. * Support students experiencing homelessness, foster care placement, family instability, justice-system involvement, mental-health challenges, or other barriers to educational access. * Coordinate referrals and follow-up related to basic needs, healthcare, mental health, transportation, housing, and other community resources. * Advocate for equitable student access to academic programs, extracurricular activities, college and career opportunities, and school support services. Academic Counseling and Graduation Planning: * All academic and graduation planning will be carried out in cooperation with Advisors and the Director. This includes the following activities: * Review student transcripts and educational records upon enrollment and throughout the student’s attendance at Bitney Prep. * Develop, maintain, and regularly review individualized graduation plans with students and families. * Monitor credits, grades, attendance, course completion, graduation requirements, and other indicators of academic progress. * Identify students who are credit deficient or at risk of not graduating and coordinate timely interventions. * Advise students regarding course selection, graduation pathways, credit recovery, A–G eligibility, career technical education, and dual-enrollment opportunities. * Collaborate with teachers and administrators to develop academic support plans for students experiencing barriers to success. * Support student transitions into Bitney Prep, between grade levels, and into postsecondary education, training, employment, or other programs. * Ensure that students and families receive clear, accurate, and timely information regarding graduation requirements and academic progress. College, Career, and Employability Counseling * Help each student develop a meaningful postsecondary plan connected to the student’s strengths, interests, goals, and circumstances. * Provide guidance related to colleges, community colleges, career technical education, apprenticeships, workforce programs, military options, and direct entry into employment. * Support students with college applications, financial-aid applications, FAFSA or California Dream Act completion, scholarships, and enrollment processes. * Coordinate career exploration, workplace-readiness activities, guest speakers, college visits, career fairs, internships, and work-based learning opportunities. * Help students develop employability skills, including communication, problem-solving, self-advocacy, workplace expectations, resume development, and interviewing. * Identify students who may benefit from the Department of Rehabilitation, workforce-development, or other transition services and coordinate appropriate referrals. * Collaborate with local colleges, employers, workforce agencies, and community organizations to expand opportunities for Bitney Prep students. Family and Community Engagement: * Maintain consistent, respectful, and responsive communication with students and families. * Conduct student and family meetings related to academic progress, graduation planning, attendance, social-emotional concerns, and postsecondary preparation. * Help families understand JMCS and Bitney Prep procedures, academic expectations, available resources, and student-support systems. * Plan and facilitate workshops, presentations, and informational meetings for students and families. * Build collaborative relationships with community organizations, mental-health providers, colleges, employers, and public agencies. * Serve as a counseling liaison between Bitney Prep, JMCS Leadership, families, and outside service providers. Bitney Prep and JMCS Integration: * Support the successful integration of Bitney Prep into JMCS systems and practices. * Help identify which existing Bitney Prep practices should be maintained, strengthened, or aligned with JMCS requirements. * Gather input from students, families, and staff regarding counseling and student-support priorities. * Assist students and families in understanding changes associated with the school’s incorporation into JMCS. * Collaborate with JMCS departments to ensure continuity of student records, services, graduation planning, and support. * Contribute to the development of a shared Bitney Prep and JMCS culture centered on relationships, student voice, academic growth, and postsecondary readiness. Documentation, Compliance, and Program Improvement: * Maintain timely, accurate, and confidential counseling records, contact logs, referrals, plans, and case notes. * Protect student information in accordance with FERPA, professional ethics, and applicable state and federal requirements. * Document academic plans, interventions, graduation progress, postsecondary planning, and counseling services. * Assist with monitoring attendance, persistence, graduation, college and career readiness, and other student outcomes. * Use student data to identify trends, evaluate the effectiveness of counseling services, and recommend program improvements. * Complete required reports, activity logs, data submissions, and administrative documentation within established timelines. * Maintains and updates Student Success Team (SST), Section 504, and Individualized Education Program (IEP) records in Beyond SST and SEIS; ensures timely and accurate documentation of counseling and related service delivery in SEIS and Non-IEP SEIS in compliance with JMCS, state, and federal requirements. * Inform the Site Administrator and appropriate JMCS leadership of significant student safety, legal, or case-related concerns in a timely manner. * Perform other related duties as assigned.