Meet Toni Lynch

Meet Toni Lynch, a therapeutic day treatment counselor, who works at John I. Burton. Toni is a thirty-three year old female, who lives in Clintwood, Virginia. She is a mother to two stepchildren; a twelve year old son and a nine year old daughter. She graduated from Clintwood High School, then went on to attend UVA Wise college for 4 years, where she received her bachelor's degree. She went on to attend Lindsey Wilson College for 2 years and received her master's degree. It was while she was attending UVA Wise that she was influenced to pursue this career.

 Before, Toni started working at Burton, she worked at Wise County Behavioral Clinic in Big Stone and  the Department of Social Services in Clintwood. Here at John I. Burton, Toni works with multiple students who are in Family Preservation Services. Toni is known as Ms. Toni by staff and students here at John I. Burton. She also has a working partner, who is Josh Spenilla. Toni is known as a therapeutic day treatment counselor here at Burton, but she also does some work in case management along with paper work. She stated that she liked the more laid back and personal setting of John I. Burton in comparison to other schools she has worked at.

This type of career is not for everyone.  Toni states; "Make sure you are in it for the right reasons; you have to have patience, make sure you have a heart for other people, and not just a job you do for money." 

Working with moody and difficult teenagers can become stressful for Toni, but she spends time with her family, travels, and reads to destress.  She also tries to separate her job from her home life as much as possible. When asked about the difference between working with younger kids, she stated that working with teenagers was easier than working with younger kids.When she was asked what her favorite part of her job was, she responded by saying "The days where I feel like I have made a difference...those are my favorite days".

Toni has worked at other schools, but stated that Burton was by far her favorite school to work at. She enjoys the staff and teachers and  believes the students are friendly. "....[Burton] is almost like a second family," said Toni.

Co-written by Austin Lane