Clinical Social Worker

Job Description

Job DescriptionDescription:

About The SEED Network

SEED is the nation's first and only network of public, college-preparatory boarding schools providing a 24-hour, 5-day per week learning environment. In classrooms, dorm meetings, dining halls, evening study halls, and exposure opportunities, our students cultivate their strength, determination, and self-awareness. With the gift of time, we build a community of support that empowers students to own their educational journeys and succeed in college and beyond.

As the first public, college-preparatory boarding schools in the U.S., SEED’s mission and approach to education are unique. SEED schools are tuition-free and, by design, serve traditionally underserved students. Our schools and graduates are supported by The SEED Foundation. The SEED Foundation provides programmatic and operating support to SEED schools in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Miami, and Los Angeles. The SEED Foundation’s College Transition & Success (CTS) team provides intensive, individualized support to each SEED graduate from their junior year of high school through their college graduation. The success of the SEED model has been showcased in media outlets and publications such as 60 Minutes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and in the documentary film Waiting for “Superman”. President Obama has hailed SEED as “a true success story.” For more information, please visit www.seedfoundation.com.

Within the SEED network, at an operational level the Foundation and the SEED schools each have specific day-to-day responsibilities and areas of focus:

The SEED Foundation

· Sets strategic direction for the SEED network.

· Defines SEED’s core model.

· Designs systems and strategies.

· Dispatches experts within SEED and nationally.

· Cultivates opportunities for additional SEED schools.

· Advises scholars on their journey to earning a college degree.

· Supports fidelity and accountability to the SEED model.

The SEED Schools

· Partner with local families and communities. Provide 5-day/week, 24-hour college preparatory education to students.

· Cultivate enriching learning opportunities for scholars nationally and internationally.

· Prepare students academically and socially/ emotionally for success in college and beyond. Develop people.

· Maintain compliance and accountability by adhering to performance management framework of local authorizers and the SEED Foundation

Requirements:

The Clinical Social Worker/School Counselor plays a pivotal role in fostering the academic, social-emotional, and career development of students in a public charter school setting. This position champions student well-being and collaborates with students, parents, teachers, and administrators to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Preventive work with students, staff, and families
• Providing consultation to school staff and parents to facilitate student educational, social, and emotional growth.
• Obtaining information concerning the effects of environment, including family, cultural, and economic disadvantages that may be adversely affecting student progress.
• Working collaboratively with the Student Support Team (SST) to develop plans of assistance for students at risk of academic and/or behavioral difficulty.
• Coordinating school and community services.
• Serving as the home-school-community liaison responsible for effective resource utilization and positive relations with stakeholders.

Program Development

• Conducting risk assessments.
• Planning for support services both within and outside the school.
• Facilitating special support groups, i.e. students with incarcerated parents, grief and loss, divorce, teen parents, conflict resolution, etc. as needed.
• Managing family resource centers, where parents/guardians can access needed information and participate in opportunities to learn how to support their student(s).

Program Planning

• Working with administrators to implement effective policies that address school safety, school attendance, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, child abuse, and neglect.

Advocacy

• Serving as a mediator within the school.
• Communicating with other agencies involved with students.
• Attending court hearings as a DC Public Schools representative.
• Making appropriate referrals for community resources.

Direct Services

• Providing individual counseling.
• Providing group counseling.
• Providing psychoeducation.
• Providing crisis intervention.

Special Education

• Serving as a member of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
• Conducting social work evaluations and other related assessments for initial evaluations and re-evaluations.
• Providing related services as prescribed by Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), including social skills, life skills, and transitional skills that can be transferred from school to community.
• Participating in MDT, IEP, manifestation determination, and other related meetings.
• Working collaboratively within the classroom setting to implement student IEPs.
• Collecting data to monitor social/emotional progress and evaluate effectiveness of services.
• Providing technical assistance on strategies that improve outcomes for special education students.
• Coordinating the design and implementation of behavior intervention plans and functional behavior assessments.
• Keeping thorough records of each student receiving services.
• Completing student progress reports.

Essential Competencies and Personal Qualities

• Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW).
• District of Columbia Government, Department of Health Professional License, which must be renewed every two (2) years by obtaining the required continuing education units:
  • Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) and Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW)
• At least two (2) years of work experience as a Social Worker in an urban school/setting with a track record of high student achievement.
• Ability to administer, interpret, and analyze related assessment instruments.

A SEED Employee

• Is committed to The SEED Foundation’s mission and its beliefs.
• Thinks strategically in aligning one’s own work streams to the larger organizational mission.
• Possesses exceptional interpersonal skills, with creative and positive energy for working with youth.
• Behaves professionally in a fast-paced environment and with a variety of constituents.
• Works independently as well as collaboratively with a team while managing multiple tasks.