School Counselor

The Arts & College Preparatory Academy (ACPA) is an arts focused, independent community school on the east side of Columbus that serves a diverse population of students in grades 7 through 12 from over 25 different districts in central Ohio. ACPA is in its twenty fifth year of operation and has consistently been one of the highest performing charter schools in Ohio.

ACPA is seeking qualified candidates for a School Counselor position for the 2026-2027 school year. The counselor will report to the School Principals and the Director of Student Services, and be highly collaborative with the counseling team, classroom teachers, school social workers, and other members of the student support staff. The counselors are a crucial position in many areas of student success - academics, social/emotional learning and overall continual growth. The School Counselor will also be expected to reflect the mission, vision and ACPA values of kindness, respect for diversity, honesty, problem solving, communication, participation and awareness in all interactions.

Responsibilities:

School Counselor Caseload Expectations

• Housing, maintaining, archiving and keeping up to date student transcript and historical grade data in PowerSchool
• Close collaboration with teachers, school psychologists, and social workers to create and implement success plans for students struggling academically, emotionally, socially, and/or behaviorally.
• Engaging in initial crisis response for students and families who have experienced traumatizing life events (death in the family, abrupt homelessness, missing persons, etc.).
• Maintaining office hours for students to utilize when distressed or in crisis, and to build positive relationships.
• Will schedule and facilitate individual & group meetings that prepare students for meeting graduation requirements, discuss options for successfully completing junior and senior year of high school and explore job, career, and college options.
• Will build and maintain working relationships with community members to bring diverse opportunities to students including but not limited to career fairs, internship opportunities, apprenticeships, college tours and entrepreneurship opportunities.
• College and Career Readiness Coordinator will develop a creative and rigorous curriculum centered around exposure to careers and colleges.
• Coordinating and facilitating the College Credit Plus (CCP) program as outlined by the state of Ohio.
• Collaboratively work with the counseling and admin team on the school master schedule and creating student course schedules.
• Assisting students and caregivers with the college application and financial aid processes and applications.
• Communicating and facilitating the registration of college entrance for students.

Culture & Climate

• Developing, implementing and facilitating regular specialized group discussion sessions that are pertinent to the student population of ACPA (grief, anxiety, etc.).
• Developing, implementing and facilitating a regular program of proactive counseling content in that addresses student concerns and needs as identified by the counseling team, teaching staff and administration (cyber safety, suicide prevention, dating violence, bullying, drug abuse, etc.).
• Cultivate an environment of creativity, safety, inclusion, acceptance, and anti-bullying and exemplify the ACPA values within their classroom structures and lessons.
• Counselors hold students accountable to school policies and norms through implementation of restorative justice practices and collaboration with the administrative team to help improve student engagement, attitudes and behavior.

Professional

• Fulfillment of an assigned supervision duty (either morning bus, lunchroom or afternoon bus).
• Attendance and participation in scheduled professional development in-service days, and scheduled after school staff and committee meetings every Monday.
• Maintain regular communication with students and guardians concerning grades and graduation requirement progress.
• Participation in the Ohio School Counselor Evaluation System (OSCES).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in school counseling or related program
• Ohio School Counselor License
• Experience or desire to work in an arts focused and progressive school environment

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary starting at $40,400, commensurate with experience & education
• Opportunity for raises according to salary scale and years of experience
• Additional bonuses and stipends available
• Benefits Package includes Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance
• Participation in Matrix Psychological Services
• Participation in STRS/SERS Retirement Account