Lower School Counselor

The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD is seeking candidates for the position of Grades 1,2 and 4 School Counselor for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Counselor will work as a member of the Counseling Team supporting students and families in the Lower School (grades Junior K-5), which comprises approximately 360 students.  We are seeking a professional, empathetic, and dynamic individual with experience in counseling at the elementary level. 

Candidates will possess the following skills in and dispositions: a palpable love for and warmth with children, strong interpersonal skills, excellent oral and written communication skills, flexibility, creativity, reflectiveness, and the highest standard of integrity.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with classroom teachers, other counselors, learning specialists, and administration to develop and implement social-emotional learning curricula.
• Provide individual and group counseling as needed in response to students’ academic and social emotional needs, including social skills groups.
• Support behavior management work with students both in response to immediate classroom needs and as part of the implementation of proactive student plans.
• Communicate effectively with families to enhance delivery of social-emotional and behavioral support.
• Guide staff to understand and work more effectively with students having social-emotional and/or behavioral challenges.
• Consult and collaborate with teams of or individual outside professionals.
• Attend Educational Management Team Meetings to discuss social-emotional needs of students and their impact on learning.
• Contribute to the Counseling Team Newsletter, a digital communication that is shared periodically with families that details proactive and responsive. work that the Counseling Team is undertaking with students on all grade levels.
• Develop placement plans for students in collaboration with Administration. 

Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will have a comprehensive knowledge of child development.
• A Master’s degree in counseling, social work, and/or school psychology and three to five years of specific or related experience is required.  
• Experience in an elementary school setting is preferred.

Work Environment:

• Faculty may be asked to perform their work responsibilities on campus and/or at home. In both settings, the teacher is required to maintain a professional environment.
• While on campus, classes may be operating either in person or in an alternative setting. Teachers are expected to be present and accessible for the entire school day (contracted hours), regardless of the setting.
• In accordance with the School's duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards, the School has adopted a mandatory Vaccination Policy to safeguard the health of our employees and their families and the community at large from infectious diseases such as  the flu, which may be reduced by annual vaccinations. This policy complies with all applicable laws and is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health authorities, as applicable.

To learn more about this opportunity and the School, please visit https://www.cesjds.org/about/work-at-cesjds.

The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate all applicants without unlawful consideration of race, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. The School encourages candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply.