FRAMINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Framingham High School

TITLE:

Guidance Counselor with Department Head Responsibilities, Grades 9-12

2024-2025 School Year

POSITION SUMMARY:

To provide overall support to teachers in the Guidance Counselor in order to deliver Framingham Public Schools’ high expectations for achievement, equal access to high levels of instruction, the achievement of academic proficiency for all students, and the closing of the opportunity gap among subgroups within the schools.  

OUR MISSION:

Framingham Public Schools is committed to excellence for all students. Our mission statement guides our work: Through a comprehensive education, we aim to create and empower free-thinking, responsible citizens who can participate equally in our rich and diverse community. FPS and the community stand united in our core values: Providing a safe, inclusive, culturally responsive teaching and learning environment; Engaging antiracist and responsible civic advocates; Respecting diversity of thought, learners, cultures, and community; Fostering learning and healthy growth of all students and staff; Ensuring every school will be an active, participatory, equitable community.

Diversity among teachers undoubtedly advances the academic achievement of students. Compliance obligations establish a baseline which we seek to exceed. As a district, Framingham Public Schools is committed to achieving, developing, and maintaining a workforce reflective of the rich racial, linguistic, and cultural diversity of our students. Framingham Public Schools aims to teach our children, and ourselves, to be culturally proficient and inclusive in order to live, learn, and work together in a vibrant and diverse world.  

Indeed, Framingham Public Schools is committed to inspiring our school community to be accepting and willing to learn from individuals with differing backgrounds. Our goal is to reflect the diverse community we serve and create a great place to work for everyone by embracing the individual skills, perspectives, and experiences our people bring to the workplace and harnessing these for high performance and improved service delivery. We want our employees to feel included, valued, and respected and have access to equal opportunity, which supports full participation at work. Framingham Public Schools seeks to retain the diverse talent in our workforce and support our people to maintain a long and productive working career. 

Framingham Public Schools is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications from persons with disabilities and who identify as members of historically underrepresented groups.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

Valid Massachusetts Teaching license. (Guidance Counselor)

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor’s Degree in the area of major study is preferred. 

SKILLS AND ABILITY:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Ability to apply knowledge of current research and theory in the educational field; to communicate clearly and concisely both in oral and written form; to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups including staff, parents and the general public; to read, analyze and interpret professional periodicals and journals, technical procedures and governmental regulations; to write reports and correspondence, as needed; to use reasoning ability to evaluate information and determine/recommend an appropriate course of action; to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions; to use professional literature, evidence-based research, and continuing education content to make practice decisions; to establish and maintain effective working relationships with students, parents, staff and the community; to work independently, prioritize tasks and manage several projects simultaneously; to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements, state and federal laws, and Framingham Public Schools policies (as long as the policies do not conflict with the Framingham Teachers Association (Unit A) Contract); to work with students and families of diverse backgrounds with diverse needs in an equitable and inclusive manner that bears witness to cultural proficiency and competency; to maintain appropriate confidential records; to react professionally and objectively to unpredictable situations (e.g. environmental changes, behavior/aggression, seizure activity, etc.);  to operate and/or acquire skills to operate a computer and related software including but not limited to Google; and ability/willingness to plan, coordinate, conduct and participate in ongoing professional and staff development.

Experience evaluating student skills and writing reports to interpret/summarize findings. Strong collaborative, teaching, coaching, and leadership skills to support student programming and work in a team setting. Strong problem-solving skills to support student success. Strong data-collection skills to help to inform decisions for students. Strong verbal and written communication skills. Strong organizational skills to balance the demands of a multi-tasking position. A proactive and solution-focused approach to meeting student needs. Knowledge of specialized content areas as well as any related laws and procedures. 

Ability to plan and implement lessons based on district and school objectives and the needs and abilities of students to whom assigned;  and to use instructional technology appropriately and work with students to facilitate their use of instructional technology.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustration of the various types of work that may be performed.  The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee, and is subject to change by the employer, as the needs of the employer and the requirements of the job change.

Supervision:  

• Works with teachers in the goal setting mode, to establish goals related to classroom instructional improvement and submit a written assessment related to these goals at the conclusion of the school year.  
• Performs all formative evaluations pertaining to the principles and standards of teaching for professional status teachers in the clinical mode and non-professional status teachers.  Informal and formal observations will be pre-scheduled to be completed by the department head and the assigned vice principal.

Curriculum:

• Responsible for overseeing all curriculum development within the department and will serve as the curriculum leader in all areas of the subject matter.  The department head will conduct regular meetings to facilitate school-wide direction and refine subject area instruction.
• Ability to perform daily non-evaluative walkthroughs of each discipline.

Goal setting:

• Must provide elicit input from teachers to identify departmental goals, which are congruent with school-wide and K-12 departmental goals.
• Plans relevant professional opportunities for teachers in the department.
• Sets and models school-wide high expectations for the quality of content, student effort, and student work and support educators to uphold these expectations consistently.
• Encourages collaboration (collegiality) within and across departments, middle schools and elementary and high school teachers.

Public relations:

• Facilitates public relations to recognize students, teachers and departmental accomplishments and initiatives.

Administrative duties:

• Oversees the instructional and duty performances of their teachers.
• Cooperates with the director, will serve as an adviser to the principal in all matters pertaining to the subject area.  
• Organizes the purchase of departmental books, supplies, materials, and work with the district office to be certain those requests are forwarded in a timely fashion.
• Actively participates in the school scheduling process (creating their own departmental matrix) and oversee departmental grading.
• Provides relevant information to their staff, assist in scheduling field trips and support the department by identifying and facilitating community resources and opportunities.
• Helps in providing and organizing substitute coverage for absent teachers within the department.
• Communicates effectively with students, parents and the community-at-large.
• Fulfills teaching assignment in accordance with the teacher's contract.
• Assists in the recruitment and hiring of staff as needed.
• Assists in Curriculum Night.

PHYSICAL WORKING CONDITIONS:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be required to move about and may be required to traverse occasionally throughout the school building;
• Must often remain in a stationary position for considerable periods of time;
• Is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and sit, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; 
• Is expected to lift at least 20 lbs (i.e. books, school supplies, etc.);
• Must frequently use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and use hand strength to grasp tools; 
• Must be able to assist students who have physical difficulties;
• Operate a computer and other office productivity machinery (i.e., a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer);
• Must be able to input information into a computer and as well as read material from a computer monitor as well as handwritten or printed matter with or without visual aids;
• Must be able to communicate effectively with students, parents, and other staff members in person, via email, and on the telephone;
• In the classroom, must be able to see and hear on a continuous basis in order to ensure the safety of students as well as speak frequently to provide instruction;
• Must be able to assist students who have physical difficulties;
• May be required to move quickly across even or uneven surfaces;
• Working in a normal school environment with an acceptable level of noise;
• Must interact with students, parents, and other staff members;
• Must be able to kneel, sit, stand, crawl, push, and pull to assist and teach children throughout the day;
• Is directly responsible for the safety, well-being, and work output of students;
• Must be able to interact with students, parents, and other staff members and occasionally must meet multiple demands from several people;
• While the majority of the workday is spent inside, must spend time outdoors for recess, fire drills, and special activities;  
• May be exposed to bodily fluids, disease, or pathogens; 
• May receive unintentional injuries from aggressive students; and
• May be required some degree of physical interaction with students who have difficulty controlling physical behavior. 

REPORTS TO:  

Building Principal. The performance of this job will be evaluated as per the Framingham Teachers Association (Unit A) Contract.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Guidance Counselor Department Teachers.

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) CLASSIFICATION:

This position is classified as Exempt (Professional).

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT:

Covered under Framingham Teachers Association (Unit A) Contract. 
Must be a current and active teacher of Framingham Public Schools.

Framingham Public Schools provides equal employment. opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Framingham Public Schools complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the District has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. Framingham Public Schools expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, ancestry, marital status, or veteran status.

Rev. 2023