When Michael Blackshear announced his retirement in November after serving as Cardinal Ritter College Prep’s principal for 10 years, many were wondering who would be able to “fill those big shoes.”
“He’d almost become synonymous with Cardinal Ritter College Prep,” said Tamiko Armstead, president of Cardinal Ritter and a former student under Blackshear.
Before Blackshear was principal, he had been the dean, athletic director and a coach for the girls’ and boys’ basketball, football and track teams from 1984 to 1992.
However at the school mass on May 2, Blackshear assured the school community that “these shoes can be filled, and the school can go to the next level,” Armstead said.
After the mass, Blackshear announced that Shante Lyons ‒ a Cardinal Ritter College Prep alum from class of 2000 and former Ritter teacher and football coach ‒ will become the school’s new principal effective July 1. Lyons is currently an assistant principal at Ladue Horton Watkins High School.
“Having Dr. Lyons return to Cardinal Ritter as principal is exactly what the school needs,” Blackshear said. “He and I have spent countless hours talking about teaching, learning, and instructional leadership. Dr. Lyons’ skill set and disposition on these topics will propel the school to a new level of achievement for Cardinal Ritter students and faculty. In addition, Dr. Lyons understands kids and knows how to motivate them to maximize their potential.”
Lyons previously served as leadership teacher and football coach at Cardinal Ritter from 2010 to 2014. He spent the past four years with the Ladue School District as a U.S. History and African-American Studies teacher and in his current role as assistant principal.
After hearing the news, faculty members hugged their former colleague and told Lyons that they were “praying it would be him,” Armstead said. Students were also excited because Lyons had spoken on a panel earlier this semester.
“He was here for 30 minutes, and the kids were still talking about him months later,” Armstead said. “He just makes that kind of connection with kids.”
Lyons said it’s hard to put into words how he felt hearing Blackshear announce him as principal.
“It felt like being born again,” Lyons said. “This is my home. I’m a graduate. I found myself here. I found my professional career in education here. My daughter is a student here currently, so there’s a lot of love and history in the building.”
Lyons grew up in a family where both of his parents are career-long educators.
“Our dinner table conversations were not rooted in the normal types of topics,” he said. “We talked about educational structures and what were the best ways to impact kids.”
However, during elementary and middle school, his education did not cultivate the idea of leadership, he said.
“I found little reflection of myself in positions of power and the highly intellectual,” Lyons said.
As a freshman, he said when he first walked into the hallway at the old Cardinal Ritter location in Walnut Park, he saw reflections of himself everywhere in the images of Jesus and other powerful people.
“History was unlike what I learned in my history class,” he said.
He learned about the positive contributions African Americans had made to the world, which blessed him with “confidence of self and knowledge of self,” he said.
Lyons went on to earn a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Missouri‒St. Louis, a master’s degree in educational administration from Missouri Baptist University, a master’s in human resource management from Webster University, and a bachelor’s in English with a minor in Black American studies and political science from Southern Illinois University‒Carbondale, where he attended on a full football scholarship.
Armstead said the Catholic Education Office of the Archdiocese of St. Louis led an “extensive” search process that included input from a committee comprised of parents, students, alums, faculty, staff, and administration.
Lyons will be responsible for strategic planning and execution as it relates to curriculum and student learning, instructional leadership, teacher recruitment and retention, daily operations of the school, and overall academic productivity, she said.
“Cardinal Ritter is a very special place,” Lyons said. “There is so much that exists already, but I want to bring a strong instructional focus which has always been part of the mission. I have an expertise in instructional performance, and I also want to bring a strong focus on cultural leadership as well.”
What he wants the community to know about him is that he’s passionate about education. He said, “I’m passionate about providing opportunities for students to find themselves and be the best version of themselves.”
