College & Career Readiness Counselor

Yellowstone Schools

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required. Master's degree preferred.
• 3 years of previous teaching experience.
• Previous high school counseling experience with proven results preferred.
• Prior experience working in a Title 1 school community is preferred.                 

 

Organizational Overview

Founded in 2001 and rooted in the Christian faith, Yellowstone Schools collectively educates 600 children in Pre-K through 10th grade and will grow a grade each year to serve 12th grade by 2026. Yellowstone partners with students and families—regardless of financial means—to provide a life-changing education, develop a strong moral foundation, and prepare scholars for life beyond high school. The K-12 campus is located in the Third Ward, one of Houston's oldest historically Black neighborhoods.

 

Most students served live in communities without access to strong educational opportunities. With classes ranging in size from 16 to 22, our students experience a rich academic and co-curricular model while receiving bus transportation, two meals a day, and access to a comprehensive student support program.

 

Yellowstone Schools consists of a cooperative of two school systems: a lower school (a private Christian school serving PreK-5th grade) and an upper school (a tuition-free, public charter school growing to serve 6th-12th grade). The lower school and upper school are distinct legal and financial entities with separate governing boards. The name Yellowstone Schools reflects each school system’s shared mission, vision, values, culture, and leadership. Each school complies with all applicable federal and state laws.

 

Position Overview

The College & Career Counselor is responsible for developing and teaching a college and career curriculum for high school seniors, which will support students in preparing, finalizing and executing post-secondary plans that will help them achieve their career or highest aspiration. In addition to teaching high school students, the College and Career Readiness Counselor is also responsible for building relationships and working with fellow teachers, the upper school leadership team, community partnerships,  and college/universities to ensure our students engage in experiences that help them expand their knowledge, connect them to resources, and develop and strengthen the skills they need to successfully matriculate to and thrive in their post-secondary education and beyond. It is the ultimate goal of Yellowstone Schools, to ensure that all graduates maintain success in their academic, professional, and personal lives through guidance, exposure and education.

This role is an ideal opportunity for a highly motivated, collaborative, results-driven and service-minded leader with a passion for seeing others embrace their potential to live a fulfilling life.

 

Essential Qualities

• Commitment to the mission of educational equity and the belief that all students can learn.
• Ability to self-direct and identify and initiate process improvements.
• A culturally competent collaborator that expresses high expectations for all students, and expects team members to do the same.
• Data and results driven.
• Resilient and outcomes-oriented, with a strong work ethic, follow-through, and demonstrated ability to balance competing priorities with tight or back-to-back deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal skills; Ability to work with a wide-range of people including teachers, parents, students, alumni, corporate partners, vendors and admissions personnel.
• Open to feedback.
• Proven written and verbal communication skills.

 

Essential Duties

• Advisor to teachers, students, and families
• Participate on the High School Design team
• Work with colleges and universities to implement a variety of advanced course offerings that provide college credit, an associate’s degree, and/or industrial certifications
• Monitor and track CCMR data for state accountability
• Identify and provide financial aid and scholarship information to students and parents
• Assist parents and students with the completion of the FAFSA
• Teach Postsecondary and Career Readiness lessons focused on college and career readiness (push-in to electives classes, guidance lesson style.
• Support upper school scholars with developing their graduation plans\. 
• Perform individual check-ins with each high school student to ensure they’re on track to fulfill graduation requirements
• Facilitate parent meetings and parent conferences
• Collect, analyze, and respond to student college and career-related data and share findings with Campus & District Administration.
• Support students with finalizing and executing strong post-secondary plans, including postsecondary and financial aid applications, military registration, and registering for standardized tests in a classroom setting.
• PIEMS data entry & management
• Oversee our Credit Recovery and Dual Enrollment programming
• Create access to postsecondary resources and exposure opportunities available to support underrepresented populations, including Texas Workforce Commission, labor market tools, and occupational outlook data.
• Develop and manage external partnerships related to college and career readiness pathways.
• Manage Senior Spotlight content in conjunction with the communications department
• Write recommendations for students applying to college, scholarships, and summer enrichment programs
• Schedule one-on-one meetings to learn about the families’ goals, needs, and aspirations and inform them of the Postsecondary Match and Career Exploration processes and deadlines
• Provide family engagement workshops related to postsecondary access and match students to opportunities in collaboration with partners. 
• Co-lead college and career programming including college visits (overnight or day), career site visits and speakers, college and career fairs, financial aid workshops, and postsecondary and career readiness workshops to educate students and parents
• Collaborate with the Y-Connect Alumni team to track and report data Maintain consistent communication on students’ data progress with school and regional leadership, students and families
• Collaborate with the High School Leadership team to provide rigorous test prep and progress monitor ACT/SAT growth throughout junior year
• Use various student management platforms to track, monitor progress , and submit student data
• monitor all postsecondary access goals including You Science Career assessment, FAFSA4Caster, balanced wish lists, summer enrichment applications, college application essays, Letters of Recommendation collection, and student and family one-on-ones
• Attend and actively participate in all staff meetings
• Develop positive, appropriate relationships with fellow staff members and teachers, viewing each other as teammates and professional colleagues
• Responsibilities associated with this position may shift, expand and grow based on the regional needs of the organization
• Other duties as assigned by the School Leadership Team

Working Schedule

• On campus each school day (Monday - Friday; 7:30am - 4:30pm) 
• Available to work some evenings, holidays, and weekends as necessary
• Ability to travel for home visits, tours and field trips as necessary

 

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

Work requires the ability to operate standard office equipment and keyboards. Must have the ability to lift and carry items up to 15 pounds, to walk short distances, and drive a vehicle to deliver and pick up materials and meet candidates.

 

Compensation and Benefits

Base salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Yellowstone Schools offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical (including HSA), dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings options, $50K employer-paid life insurance, supplemental life ( short-term disability insurance, cancer, hospital, accident), EAP, wellness day off and generous paid time off program, and 10-weeks paid parental leave.

Yellowstone does not refuse to hire, terminate, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of race, color, sex, or national or ethnic origin