School is about academics, but for some, school is also about family.

There are several staff members and a principal whose teenagers attend Tupelo High School. Among them are English II teacher Lisa Sandroni and her son, Ray; counselor Suzanne Blakey and her daughter, Margaret; coach Fred Hadley and counselor Manessa Hadley and their son, Devin; head football coach Trent Hammond and his daughter, Maddie; art teacher Pat Parker and French teacher Clark Parker’s son, Sam; child development teacher Natasha Richey and her son, Jaymere; choral teacher Suzy Williams and her daughter, Anna Katherine; bookkeeper Tammy Wheeler and her son, Grant; Help Desk coordinator Kelli Coburn and her daughter, Anna; and data entry clerk Jennifer Zosel and her daughter and son, Alexis and Justin.

“It’s normal, but all the teachers know who she is, so if you do anything bad, you’ll get in trouble,” said freshman Mary Catherine Miller, the daughter of Journalism instructor Ginny Miller.

Miller said her only problem with Mary Catherine attending THS is that  “she won’t sign up for any of my classes.”

Scott Chumley, a sophomore, said he doesn’t feel any pressure having his mother teach his Yearbook class.

“I like it and I enjoy it because she’s my mom,” he said.

Shari Chumley likes being her son’s teacher as well.

“I enjoy having Scott in my class,” she said. “We had a discussion about whether he wanted to call me ‘momma’ or ‘Mrs. Chumley.’”

Principal Jason Harris, father of freshman Maddy Harris, has a slightly different perspective.

“I think she feels pressured being the principal’s daughter,” he said. “I try to stay away. She gets no special treatment.”

The family members on campus are not limited to students whose parents work at THS. Freshman Callie Philips is 9th-grade Pre-AP Biology teacher Constance Burleson’s little sister, and physics teacher and boys’ cross country coach Jonathan Begnaud is the son of tutor Kathy Begnaud.

Pre-AP English II instructor Suzy McGrath has taught one nephew and a niece, and is currently teaching another niece this semester.

“I love teaching my family because it has affected our relationships in a good way,” McGrath said. “They get to see me in a different, more professional light, and I see them in a different, more student-conscientious one. I don’t have kids of my own, so they’re kind of like my kids.”

Kathy Begnaud has helped many students during her time here at THS. Jonathan Begnaud also helped during his time in high school as a peer tutor.

“I had a son and a daughter  here,” she said. “Jonathan was good at just taking what comes. The first semester my daughter was here she didn’t want to be seen with me, but she soon found out that there were perks to having your mother as a teacher. Jonathan handled it well.”

“I always refer to her as Mrs. Begnaud,” her son said. “It’s not strange, but convenient because she was working here when I was in high school. If I ever need to know what’s going on in J Building, she knows.”