SF
Seneca Family of Agencies
San Leandro, California

Classroom Counselor

Counselor 8.5 Work-LifeNo weekendsNo nightsFull-Time

Listed compensation

Starting at $25 /hr

The week · per this posting · Monday – FridayWeekdays only

Ask the employer about the work setting and call expectations.

Posted 7mo ago

Job Description

About the Role

Seneca’s Non-Public Schools are hiring for a Classroom Counselor to guide 5-12th graders to success at James Baldwin Academy in San Leandro, CA. Classroom Counselors are integrated into the school community where and provide healing-centered emotional and behavioral support services and promote academic growth.

You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with caregivers, teachers, and school leadership to ensure and celebrate the success of youth and families in a school setting.

About James Baldwin Academy

James Baldwin Academy (JBA) is a small, WASC-accredited school in the San Leandro hills, serving students in grades 5–12 with unique mental health and learning needs.

With just four classrooms, we provide highly individualized academic and behavioral interventions to help students succeed both emotionally and academically. Our program goes beyond the classroom with engaging extracurriculars like gardening, skateboard club, and art club.

At JBA, we live by the 3 C’s—Confidence, Compassion, and Community—and our mission drives everything we do: We grow in a humanizing and therapeutic learning environment, fueled by collaborative community and equity-driven education. If you're looking to make a real impact in students’ lives, JBA is the place

About Seneca

Seneca Family of Agencies has been nominated among the Bay Area’s Top Workplaces for nearly a decade. We’re committed to providing traditionally marginalized communities with a network of outstanding mental health, community-based, and educational services. We are committed to building a diverse staff, and our programs actively engage in conversations and training on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to promote equity and justice for the youth and families we serve.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with teachers, therapists, and other specialists to deliver integrated support
  • Build therapeutic relationships that help students engage and achieve personalized goals
  • Support academic instruction by assisting with individual and group activities as directed
  • Implement classroom modifications and accommodations based on student’s individualized education plans (IEP) and other plans
  • Deliver direct behavioral intervention that reduces behaviors impeding school success and promotes positive behaviors for learning and community engagement
  • Communicate effectively with families and all others involved in the students’ daily life, including other Seneca programs or external agencies
  • Complete required data collection and service documentation to measure the effectiveness of services, inform team decision making, and/or engage in service billing
  • Utilize crisis communication and de-escalation techniques as per Seneca's crisis response training
  • This may include intervening with the students’ behavioral program through physical management of the student

Qualifications

Education/Experience Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree OR
  • Associate degree and 1 year of applicable experience OR
  • High school diploma/GED and 2 years of applicable experience
  • Applicable experience can include paid or unpaid experience working with youth or families, working in a classroom setting, working in a mental health setting, providing academic support to youth, or providing crisis support to youth
  • At least 21 years of age
  • Reliable transportation to and from the school site and other occasional meeting locations
  • TB test clearance, fingerprinting clearance, and any other state/federal licensing or certification requirements

Schedule: * School based schedule

  • Monday to Friday: 8:30 AM- 5:00 PM

Benefits

  • Starting at $25.46 -$27.96 per hour
  • Actual salary dependent on creditable experience above the minimum

Qualifications

  • Salary increases each year
  • Additional compensation provided upon passing a bilingual language proficiency exam

Comprehensive Employee Benefits Package

  • Medical, dental, vision, chiropractic, acupuncture, and fertility coverage
  • Short and long-term disability, family leave, and life insurance
  • Partially paid premiums for dependants
  • 403b retirement plan
  • Employer-Paid Assistance Plan
  • 5 weeks of paid time off, 11 paid holidays, and 14 paid school break days
  • Seneca is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness

certified employer

  • Abundant promotional opportunities across California and Washington
  • Specialized training and development opportunities

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree

Key Skills

Emotional SupportAcademic Growth PromotionCollaborationAcademic Instruction SupportIEP ImplementationFamily Communication

School Counseling — Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active School Counseling listings this role was benchmarked against, 68% are remote, 34% have no call, 54% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$56k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $50k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Seneca Family of Agencies ranks #1 of 21 employers hiring Counselor on WeekdayDoc by average advertised pay.

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Classroom Counselor at Seneca Family of Agencies a 8.5 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as excellent. This places the position in the top 5% in School Counseling — ranked against 32 active School Counseling listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements, no night shifts.

Top Counselor Jobs

41 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution41 jobs · 24 employers

8
<$90k
14
$90k-105k
8
$105k-120k
11
$120k-135k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks33 jobs · 24 employers

401k / retirement match
97% this job
Sign-on bonus
39%
CME allowance
30%
Loan repayment
15% this job
PSLF eligible
9% this job

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Clinical Director - LMFT, LCSW, LPCC

Seneca Family of Agencies · Salinas, California

$112k-$126k
#2

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT, LPC, LCSW)

LifeStance Health · Milwaukee, Wisconsin

$92k-$125k
#3

Licensed Therapist-IBH - Comprehensive Care Center

$104k-$123k
#4

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

$115k-$120k
+ 39 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.4this job 8.5
Among the best 10% of School Counseling listings for work-life

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 32 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends
  • No nights

Living in San Leandro

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$812k
Typical market rent
$2,463/mo
Residents’ average commute
31 min
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

SF

About Seneca Family of Agencies

Benefits & Perks

Salary: $52,957 - $58,157/year
Medical, Dental, Vision, Chiropractic Coverage
5 Weeks PTO, 11 Holidays, 14 School Break Days
403b Retirement Plan
PSLF Eligible
Training Opportunities