Tarkington Independent School District has selected Charles and Kay McLin, Texas public school educators with a combined service to public schools of 81 years, as the recipients of the 2022 Commitment to Education: Community Award. This award is presented annually to community leaders who promote and support the education of our youth inside and beyond the classroom.
Charles McLin’s ancestors (the John Purswell family) have lived continuously on Tarkington Prairie since 1917, and his mother attended Tarkington High School. His wife Kay Kirkham McLin’s family has lived on the Prairie since the 1880s. Her grandfather Virgil Carter graduated and taught here before serving as superintendent of schools for Liberty County.
Charles has spent 52 years living on the Prairie. Kay attended Tarkington Schools from the fifth through the twelfth grades, graduating in 1963 and has resided in Tarkington for 65 years. They have two daughters, Edie Lang and Amy Boie, both of whom graduated from Tarkington, and five grandchildren – three (Carter Lang, Hattie Lang, and Marcy Lang) have graduated from and two (Lyvia Boie, a 9th grader, and Natalie Boie, a 6th grader) are currently attending Tarkington Schools.
Charles graduated from Cleveland High School and earned a B.S. degree in Elementary Education, M.Ed. in Counseling, and a Certification in Mid-Management. He served as a teacher in Cleveland ISD from 1964-1970, taught science and math at Tarkington Elementary from 1970-1981, and served as principal of Northside Elementary in Cleveland from 1981-1994 before retiring with 29 years of official service. Later, from 2002-2007, Charles worked for Region 4 Education Service Center supervising teachers in the Alternative Certification Program, dedicating a total of 34 years of his life to public school education.
After graduating from Tarkington High School, Kay earned a B.S. degree in Secondary Education – History and English, M.Ed. in Elementary Education, and a Certification in Mid-Management. She taught grades 7 and 8 at Shepherd ISD in 1966-1967, grade 10 at Cleveland ISD from 1967-1973, grades 7 and 8 at Tarkington Junior High from 1973-1979, and grade 10 at Tarkington High School from 1980-1988. From 1988-2001, Kay served as Director of Curriculum and Instruction of Tarkington ISD, retiring with 30 years of official service. She supervised teachers in the Alternative Certification Program of Region 4 Education Service Center for an additional 17 years from 2001-2018, finally ending her commitment to students and public education with 47 years of service.
Charles and Kay continue to support Tarkington ISD and their granddaughters by attending various UIL sporting and academic events, plays, concerts, art shows, award ceremonies, and graduations. They particularly enjoy being part of Grandparents’ Days and providing support to the Tarkington Student Foundation in its effort to provide scholarships for all graduating seniors. For the McLins, it is all about tradition, family, love of the school and community, and lifelong educational interest.
When asked what thoughts they would like to share with the Tarkington Community, the McLins stated, “We have truly been blessed working in a community with a long tradition of striving for educational excellence. There has been pride in the school system, and more importantly, in the education obtained from Tarkington Schools. This pride has and continues to bind the Tarkington Community.”
The Commitment to Education award was presented to Charles and Kay McLin at the 2022 Tarkington Round-Up on Saturday, Oct. 1, at Tarkington Middle School. The McLins were joined at the award presentation by their daughter and son-in-law, Edie and Mark Lang, and granddaughters, Hattie and Marcy Lang, and daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Erik Boie, and granddaughters, Lyvia and Natalie Boie.