Guidance Counselor

Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM), a project of the Art of Problem Solving Initiative, Inc., is seeking  Guidance Counselors to work at our New York and Los Angeles campuses. The role of Guidance Counselor is a position that supports BEAM’s operations by allowing our students to attend BEAM Discovery and ensure their emotional needs are attended to in this new environment.  

This job is ideal for someone who enjoys working with kids and wants to be part of their transformative summer, a first summer exploring enrichment math for most of them!  

Key Responsibilities

Counsel Students

• Build relationships with students from the start of the program, opening lines of trust with them during non-academic activities.  
• Support students in addressing common challenges (especially those who experience shyness or anxiety). 

Attendance Communication

• Review daily attendance records.
• Implement attendance next steps (including calls home by you or office staff for unexpected absences). 

Support Community of Students

• Run an activity of your choice daily with students (such as sports, arts & crafts, board games).
• Staff the main office and answer student questions. 
• Each breakfast and lunch with students (except when this is the best time to meet with a student one-on-one). 
• Organize daily afternoon snack distribution. 
• (Occasionally) cover the responsibilities of one of our high school or college student counselors due to staff absences, including covering additional activities or supporting Open Math Time. 
• Accompany students on field trips. 

Support Individual Student Needs and Community Needs

• Assess student needs and recommend next steps. 
• When necessary, run mediation (student/student or student/staff). 
• When called for, implement restorative justice processes. 
• Occasionally, implement behavior contracts. 
• With other leadership staff, make calls home to keep families informed. 

Program Leadership

• Serve on a 3-person leadership team (along with the Site Director and Director of Student Life) to ensure the program runs smoothly. Provide advice to this group and handle next steps that you are best suited to handle. 
• Provide guidance to other staff (both residential counselors and also faculty) as they work to address and support mental health and other student needs.

Finally, while your role is not mathematical in nature, in order to cultivate a positive learning environment we expect all staff to foster a supportive attitude towards students learning mathematics, which you could do by visiting students in classes, inquiring about their learning or growth, or simply displaying curiosity about the math at the program. 

Location, Dates, and Schedule

NY Programs

During summer 2024, we will run math programs that serve New York City middle schoolers. We will host one residential camp at college campuses in Upstate New York and two day programs in New York City.

Keeping in mind the exact dates shared above, this role requires you to be on campus:

• During training/set-up (Wednesday-Friday) for three full days to participate in staff training and set up the campus. 
• Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm for the five weeks students are at the program (note that exact program hours may shift as final contracts are signed with host locations) 
• One Saturday (exact date to be determined) for six hours to attend a field trip 
• During wrap-up (Monday-Tuesday) for two full days to reflect on the summer and support final packing 

Qualifications

Above all, we're looking for people who are passionate about the work and impact of BEAM. It is much more important to us that we hire someone with the right approach than someone with a particular background. 

That said, because you would be leading the socio-emotional response team over the summer, we’re looking for someone with formal and/or extensive training, which could be demonstrated through:

• Having a MSW degree and/or a social work license. 
• Having a degree in counseling and/or counseling certification. 
• In the absence of such formal training, 3+ years counseling work history. 

In addition to the above required qualifications, additional preferred qualifications include:

• Prior work experience with middle school students. 
• Prior work experience with students in LA or NYC public schools or serving students from a comparable background. 
• Fluency in Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Korean or another language commonly spoken by BEAM’s LA families or NYC families.
• Experience running training workshops for adults. 
• Mediation training and/or experience. 
• Restorative justice training and/or experience. 
• Interest in mathematics and/or broader curiosity about learning new things. 

Commitment to Diversity

BEAM believes that our staff, at all levels and across all roles, should represent the backgrounds of the students we serve. We are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment. Beyond a commitment to nondiscrimination, we strongly encourage applications from underrepresented and marginalized communities.

Compensation, Benefits, and Other Details

Compensation for this position for the duration of the program is $5,650. In addition, BEAM will provide breakfast and lunch on weekdays. We also offer meal options for those with dietary restrictions.  

Application Process and Deadline

We ask all applicants to submit an application, including their resume and answers to a few short questions. After reviewing your materials, we will contact you regarding next steps. We believe in the importance of demonstrated ability and work samples. Some applicants will proceed to an interview to allow our hiring team to learn more about their skills and experiences. We work hard to recognize the time you put into the process and we won't load you down with any unnecessary bureaucracy.

Priority Deadline to Apply: ASAP. Job will be filled on a rolling basis.

For accommodation requests related to the job application process, please contact HR at accommodations@beammath.org.