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'I truly want them to be well': Dublin City Schools staff member makes wellness videos for students

The video series 'Be Well with Mrs. Tania' is not only a resource for those in Dublin, but has reached people across the state and country

DUBLIN, Ga. — One staff member from Dublin City Schools started making mental health videos for her students and their parents in April. 

Little did she know, those videos would get huge responses from around Georgia and other states. 

Dublin City Schools' Director of Mental Health and Social Services, Tonia Spaulding, had the idea to make the videos as soon as schools were shut down due to COVID-19.

Every Sunday, a 'Minute of Wellness' is posted to give a brief introduction to an episode of 'Be Well with Mrs. Tonia,' which is posted on Friday.

Spaulding says the idea came to her when she was trying to figure out how to deal with this strange time.

"I'm used to doing in-home counseling," Spaulding said. "I can't do that because of COVID, so I said to myself, 'How can I reach my arms around my parents, and the kids and the people that I serve?'"

With some help from other staff members, Spaulding was able to put her idea into action by creating the 'Be Well with Mrs. Tonia' series.

With just an iPhone and a tripod, she was on her way to begin making videos that highlight subjects like mindfulness, stress and relationships.

Spaulding let people know that she would walk through this time with them, through the videos.

"I'm still there with you," she said.

But what started out as something to reach the children and parents of Dublin, began to spread to neighboring counties and eventually to the Georgia Department of Education.

She even had a call to ask if she would sit-in a meeting with schools in New York and Los Angeles that wanted to highlight her episode series.

"I never thought it would grow into that, but I'm so happy it did," Spaulding said. "We're little Dublin, Georgia, and we had a big idea, and they wanted to hear about it, so that was exciting."

Having a "gift" of being able to talk through hard topics, Spaulding says she's happy to talk about what's going on in the world if it will benefit a student.

With over 22 years of experience in her field, Spaulding says she has "fun" with the videos that are aimed to help others.

She has worked at prisons, college campuses, and in geriatrics prior to working with families in Dublin.

"It really touches my heart because it takes me back to past sessions I've had. I've watched a lot of kids grow up and some are now adults and they're watching 'Be Well' and they know that what I'm saying comes from my heart. They know that I truly want them to be well," she said.

Counselors from other districts have asked if they can use her videos as a resource for their own schools.

After COVID-19 is over, she says she wants to continue the episodes and maybe even expand them to include other people in the conversations.

You can find the episodes on the Dublin City Schools Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channel.

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