About KIPP Nashville Public Schools 

KIPP Nashville Public Schools is a network of high-performing, free, open enrollment K-12 schools that has been committed to positively affecting student outcomes in Nashville since 2005. KIPP Nashville is part of the acclaimed KIPP Network, which educates 100,000+ students nationwide and supports students from Kindergarten through college, career and beyond. Through the KIPP Forward program, our team helps students identify their career of highest aspiration and develop the skills and confidence to chase their dreams.
  
KIPP Nashville currently operates 3 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 1 high school and we are excited to open our doors to a 2nd high school in 2023. Our student community consists of over 3,000 students in North, East and South Nashville. 94% of our students identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and 26% are identified as diverse learners. We are excited to continue our growth to ensure all students in Nashville have access to an excellent education and the resources necessary to push past any boundaries that may stand in their way.
 
The mission of KIPP Nashville is to, together with families and communities, create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence they need to pursue the paths they choose - college, career and beyond - so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. If you share in this belief, if you have a proven willingness to do what it takes for students to be their best, if you thrive in an environment that is both collaborative and entrepreneurial, then you are already a KIPPster.

Position Overview:

KIPP Nashville seeks a highly dedicated school counselor who will bring a “whatever it takes” attitude to its team. The School Counselor will work directly with students and families to provide effective, high quality interventions that are data-driven. The Counselor will work directly with teachers to cultivate their knowledge of students’ social and emotional development. To ensure that we are meeting the social and emotional needs of all students and families we educate, our School Counselor will be a key driver of our schools’ student culture vision of creating safe, inclusive, and character building culture for every child. The School Counselor provides the following core services: prevention, intervention, assessment, and collaboration.

Responsibilities of a KIPP Nashville School Counselor include, but are not limited to:

• Prevention

  • Build relationships and collaborate with external education and social services professionals to develop appropriate agency services for students and families

  • Participate in weekly intervention meetings to thought partner with teachers around social and emotional supports

  • Facilitate workshops and other learning opportunities for families

  • Conduct home visits that support families to meet KIPP Nashville College Prep Elementary expectations and increases student/family involvement

  • Participate on school staff teams to develop policies and practices to proactively build school culture including opportunities for team-building and collaboration among students

  • Help drive a school-wide atmosphere that suits the needs to our students, teachers, and families

  • Facilitate professional development for teachers to help them understand child development and how it affects student performance academically and social/emotionally

• Intervention

  • Drive social and emotional intervention plans for our most high need students

  • Run individual and group counseling sessions with research-based social and emotional practices

  • Assist students, teachers, and families to develop solutions to family and community factors that influence students’ capacity or ability to learn

• Assessment

  • Complete high-quality progress notes for all students receiving counseling services weekly

  • Conduct interviews with a student, family members, and KIPP staff members to gather information about each student’s social, emotional and behavioral needs; help all constituents integrate information to best meet the student’s needs

  • Conduct observations to gather data in order to determine best options for interventions

• Collaboration

  • Create professional learning goals each year and implement feedback towards these goals

  • Offer support to and receive constructive feedback from colleagues in order to create a professional working atmosphere that is conducive to growth and improvement

• Family Engagement

  • Establish and maintain strong communication lines with all parents and share progress

  • Be available for open houses, parent teacher conferences and other events involving parents

  • Make oneself available to students, parents and other staff members

• Growth Mindset

  • Pursue challenging professional goals each year

  • Willing to offer support and receive constructive feedback from colleagues in order to create a professional working atmosphere that is conducive to change and improvement

  • Participate in school-wide and individual professional development, including pre-service training over the summer and weekly during the academic year (held during school hours)

Desired Experience

• Valid Tennessee professional school counselor license or license eligible

• Commitment to working with students from educationally under-resourced communities

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred

• Pass Criminal Background Check

• At least two years of counseling experience (Preferred)

• Experience and demonstrated success teaching students from educationally under-resourced communities (Highly Preferred)

• Experience teaching or supporting diverse learners (Preferred)

Desired Characteristics

• Unwavering commitment to KIPP Nashville’s mission, students, families, and community

• Firm belief in affirming the identity of students, families and staff

• Passionate and committed to being a leader for racial justice and equity, and teaching in a school committed to anti-racism

• Passionate about data-driven instruction

• Demonstrates excitement in growing students into their highest self

• Superb personal organization skills to keep on top of deadlines and measures of accountability

• Team player: demonstrates maturity, growth mindset, strong work ethic, follow-through and flexibility

Our comprehensive compensation package includes life insurance and long-term disability coverage provided by KIPP Nashville, voluntary medical and dental plans, in addition to retirement benefits and an annual salary increase. Salary will begin at $53,455 for first year counselors with a conferred Bachelor’s degree and $58,915 for first year counselors with a conferred advanced degree. Salary is commensurate with experience. To establish equitable salary practices, the compensation package is derived from the regional KIPP Nashville Public Schools pay scale. This position is exempt and will follow a 10-month schedule.

Apply online at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/KIPP/nashville. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

KIPP Nashville is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual preference, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, pregnancy, or veteran status.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.