All in the Family

School Administrator, March, 2000 by Priscilla Pardini

"They whipped us," Ken recalls sadly. And did the experience threaten their brotherly love? "No," he says laughing. "But I did have to buy him a beer."

Priscilla Pardini is a free-ance education writer in Shorewood, Wis.

One Family, Four Superintendents and More on the Way

With a mother who taught kindergarten and a father who worked as a school administrator, it was probably inevitable that some of the nine McLaughlin children would grow up to become educators.

But few would have guessed that three of Elizabeth and Jack McLaughlin's sons--and one of their grandsons--would end up serving as school superintendents in California. "There for a while, we were known as the Irish Mafia," recalls Michael McLaughlin, superintendent of the Redding and Shasta Union elementary school districts.

That would have been during the period of 1992 to 1994, when Mike McLaughlin was superintendent of the Exeter Public School District, south of Fresno; his older brother, Jack Jr., was superintendent in Hemet Unified School District in southern California's Riverside County; and their younger brother, Kim, was superintendent in Pauma Valley in San Diego County. At the same time, Jack Jr.'s oldest son, Jack III (known widely as "Smokey") was superintendent of the Blake School District, a one-room school district (and with 25 students, the smallest district in California) in Woody, outside of Bakersfield.

Mike and Jack Jr. remain superintendents in Redding and Berkeley, respectively. Kim is now principal of Ford Elementary School in Palm Desert, while Smokey is director of curriculum in the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

Meanwhile, other McLaughlins are working their way up through the ranks. Karen Heisinger, the youngest of the nine McLaughlin siblings, just received her doctorate in education. She directs the beginning teacher program in Placer County. Mike's second son, Mickey, a teacher in Sacramento, is pursuing his doctorate in educational administration. And Mickey's younger brother, Brennan, is a teacher in Palm Desert. And that's just the immediate family.

Close Relationships

All the McLaughlins say they were influenced by their parents' commitment to education and the nightly conversations around the dinner table about school issues. Their mother, Elizabeth, taught kindergarten for more than 20 years. Their father, Jack Sr., served as an executive-level administrator for more than 35 years, ending his career as deputy superintendent in what was then the Redondo Beach City School District.

Kim, who says he remains "very proud of my two older brothers and nephew," left the superintendency when he discovered he was better suited to being a principal. "I found I couldn't satisfy five different personalities on a school board," he concedes. "My forte is dealing with elementary school children and teachers."

Kim says he has fond memories of working alongside his brothers and nephew. "It was amazing how many superintendents we got to know. If one of us didn't know someone, another did. Our network was incredible."