Michael McLaughlin’s theory of looking out for his daughter’s interest in the Prince George’s County Schools system is a simple one: ‘‘To advocate for your child, you have to advocate for every child.”
McLaughlin, 55, of Laurel serves on the county schools’ Disabled Issues Advisory Board and the state Superintendent’s Family Involvement Council, and previously was on the Maryland Parent Advisory Council. He also serves as chairman of the county’s Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee, which advises the school system, and as a member of the board of directors for the Arc of Prince George’s County, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of individuals with mental disabilities.
For his efforts, the Arc honored the stay-at-home father with the 2008 Volunteer of the Year award in April.
‘‘He’s really good about getting ideas, and he doesn’t operate in a vacuum, he pulls in other organizations, which is so smart. He pulls all the resources together,” said Mary Funk, Arc’s deputy executive director.
McLaughlin’s advocacy work began when his daughter, Erin, who has Down syndrome, entered the county school system and was placed in James E. Duckworth Regional Center in Beltsville. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 800 children and causes some developmental delays. In Erin’s case, her challenges are mostly related to speech, McLaughlin said.
After Erin completed kindergarten, McLaughlin and his wife, Jackie, wanted her to attend a neighborhood school, Laurel Elementary, in a classroom with students in special education and in general education.
‘‘The peer model for that was just tremendous and still is,” McLaughlin said, adding that the inclusive environment has helped his daughter improve her vocabulary and pick up verbal skills.
‘‘She’s made a lot of really good gains,” he said of Erin, who is now in the third grade at Laurel.
Now, McLaughlin’s days and evenings are so packed with activity that his family often assumes any time he spends away from home is for work. After a recent 10-minute trip to the store, he returned home, and Erin said, ‘‘Hi, Daddy. How was your meeting?”
‘‘My wife is very understanding and picks up the slack with homework with Erin when I’m out at a meeting and such, and my son, too, helps out. It’s certainly a family effort,” McLaughlin said.
In addition to Erin, McLaughlin and his wife, Jackie, have a daughter, Jillian, who is a student at Towson University studying general education and special education, and a son, Kevin, a sophomore at Laurel High School.
Erin’s classroom includes a general educator, special educator and a paraprofessional, which is similar to a program being piloted in county schools called, ‘‘Making Education Accessible in Neighborhood Schools,” which brings some students in special education into a general education setting.
‘‘It’s going to benefit not just special education kids but all kids in the classroom,” McLaughlin said.
The program is being piloted in 42 county elementary schools this school year in second-grade classrooms, and the school system plans to expand the program to second- and third-grade classrooms next year, according to the county schools’ Web site.
McLaughlin said although some parents of children in special education programs still encounter difficulties, the school system under schools superintendent John E. Deasy, who came to the county in 2006, has been much more responsive to the needs of students with disabilities.
E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.
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