Director of Counseling

Director of Counseling

Position Summary:

The Director of Counseling provides strategic leadership and oversight of the district's comprehensive school counseling program, ensuring equitable access to academic, social-emotional, and mental health support for all students. The Director works with Counseling and Mental Health teams to oversee prevention, early identification, intervention, crisis response, and postvention efforts while strengthening partnerships among schools, families, and community mental health providers. This position leads the implementation of a coordinated, multi-tiered system of supports aligned with district priorities and the goals of the SAMHSA Project AWARE grant, ensuring effective grant implementation, data-driven decision-making, measurable student outcomes, and long-term sustainability of practices beyond the grant period.

Essential Duties:

1. Great Teaching & Learning (Instructional Infrastructure):
   • Lead and monitor districtwide counseling services aligned with district priorities and Project AWARE objectives.
   • Analyze district-wide outcome data to identify and address achievement, attendance, and opportunity gaps, ensuring equitable access to college and career readiness programming.
   • Develop systems to track and monitor post-secondary success metrics, including FAFSA completion, concurrent enrollment, and graduation pathways.
   • Oversee evidence-informed prevention, early identification, and intervention strategies across Tiers I, II, and III.
   • Develop and lead professional development to support counseling strategies and initiatives.
   • Support school counselors in utilizing data to drive student support strategies.
2. Great People (Talent Management):
   • Provide professional learning, coaching, and accountability for school counselors.
   • Coordinate counselor-teacher, counselor-parent, and other scheduled team meetings and conferences.
   • Mentor and support school counselors through monthly meetings designed to ensure the successful implementation of a school counseling program that aligns with American School Counselor Association (ASCA) standards. Facilitate monthly collaboration meetings with site counselors to promote consistency and continuous improvement.
   • Monitor state and national issues and trends related to mental health, academic, career, and social domains, and provide professional development to educate staff.
   • Provide individual training and onboarding support for newly assigned or hired counselors to ensure consistent processes across the district.
   • Coordinate with the Director of Mental Health to foster professional growth through training in trauma-informed practices, suicide prevention, and support for at-risk students.
   • Assist in providing updates to school sites regarding legislation related to graduation requirements or changes to Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OK Promise).
3. Great Culture (Systems Leaders):
   • Establish and chair a Counselor Advisory Committee to facilitate feedback loops, monitor implementation fidelity, and inform departmental policy.
   • Serve as a liaison between district leadership, community mental health partners, and post-secondary institutions to streamline support services for students.
   • Strengthen collaboration with families, community organizations, and mental health providers.
   • Ensure consistent implementation of crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and postvention protocols.
   • Promote inclusive and transparent systems to support the holistic development of all students.
   • Represent OKCPS in local, state, and national forums to remain current in the fields of mental health, counseling, and career readiness.
   • Maintain high levels of communication with site leaders to ensure alignment with district goals and emerging needs.
4. Great Systems (Support & Accountability):
   • Respond to inquiries and provide assistance to staff, students, and the public; schedule counseling appointments; answer telephone calls; and provide information to callers, visitors, staff, and students.
   • Prepare all routine correspondence as requested by the guidance department and/or administration.
   • Receive and process student grades and grade changes; prepare and print report cards and progress reports; notify teachers, counselors and parents of academic issues.
   • Maintain and update all student records; updating with grades and other student information; transfer cumulative records to other schools for existing students; establish and maintain related filing systems.
   • Process student grade report data and maintain copies of accurate student/staff schedules.
   • Maintain and update all office files and a master calendar for guidance counselors and other coordinators.
   • Assist building administrators and guidance staff in processing forms, surveys, and other data as appropriate.
   • Monitor implementation, service access, grant deliverables, and student outcomes to guide continuous improvement.
   • Ensure compliance with grant requirements and develop plans to sustain effective practices beyond the grant period.
   • Facilitate training and successful utilization of the district's Student Information System (SIS) for scheduling and course enrollments.
   • Develop and maintain a guidance/counseling website/portal that contains update information related to the program serving both students and guidance counselors
   • Lead the development of guidance plans, policy recommendations, and digital resources, including a counseling and career readiness portal.
   • Perform other duties as assigned.

Job Specifications:

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, skills, and/or abilities required. 

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills and/or Abilities):

*Relevant experience may be substituted for formal education at a 2:1 ratio. Therefore for every 1 year of college lacking, 2 years

of directly relevant experience may be substituted.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills and/or Abilities):

• Master’s degree in a counseling-related field.
• Current Oklahoma School Counselor certification through the OSDE.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Previous experience and/or ability working with children or adolescents.
• Proficiency with computer hardware. Google software applications, and Windows software applications.
• Flexibility, initiative, and excellent organizational skills.

Physical/Mental Requirements:

• Adequate manual dexterity to write legibly and perform required duties on a computer.
• Adequate visual acuity to read, interpret, and transcribe written material and perform other required duties.
• Normal range of hearing and clear speaking abilities to interact appropriately with others in person and via phone.
• Ability to stoop, bend, stretch, and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.
• Sitting for prolonged periods of time.
• May periodically require work outside of normal business hours, including weekends, under demanding conditions to meet business needs and deadlines.

 Work Environment:

• Frequent use of personal vehicle for travel within and outside the district to attend meetings with community partners, advisory boards, trainings, outreach and engagement events, and other community meetings essential to grant success.
• Office duties will be performed in a well-lighted, climate-controlled environment.
• Requires time in the office as well as external meeting locations with community partners or school sites throughout the OKC metro area.
• Must be available in the office during standard work hours and on call for in-person school site needs.
• May require participation in meetings and activities outside of normal business hours, including weekends and holidays.
• Ability to bend, stoop, lift up to 25 lbs, and stand or sit for extended periods.

Reports To: Executive Director of Counseling, College and Career Readiness

FSLA Status: Non-Exempt

Compensation: 903 (Salary determined by experience.)

Work Days: 242

FTE: 1.0 (8 hours per day)

This job description is not intended to be all inclusive. The employee will also perform other reasonably related business duties as assigned by the supervisor or appropriate administrator. Oklahoma City Public Schools reserves the right to, update, revise or change job duties as the need prevails. This document is for communication only and not intended to imply a written or implied contract of employment. The Board of Education and Superintendent may approve alternatives to the listed qualifications.