Years ago, Kacy Seals remembers an acquaintance laughed at her when she said she wanted to be the principal of her alma mater, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School.
“If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, they aren’t big enough,” said Seals, the current principal at CVPA. “You can’t give up on what you have your mind set on. The dream should be big.”
Seals’ dream became reality in August 2015. It may not have happened if Seals had stayed on course in a professional career that began in the business sector. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, Seals found her true calling while volunteering for an at-risk group of young people at Roosevelt High School.
“I recall wondering what I would do for free, and education sort of found me,” Seals said. “I was so concerned about what I was seeing with these kids, and I fell in love with the idea of making a difference.”
Seals became a substitute teacher at Roosevelt in 2000, and in six years climbed the ladder to administrator after teaching and serving as an assistant principal at Roosevelt, and then principal at the St. Louis Public Schools’ Big Picture School and at Confluence Academy. The latter two assignments, where Seals again worked with at-risk students, tested her mettle, but also helped her realize education was her true calling.
“This period of time tested my ‘faith’ muscles,” Seals said. “But I always saw the positive in these kids. When I could work with kids to help them find light in themselves and others see it in them, I realized I would never leave education. It is my home.”
Seals can relate to the plight of many of SLPS students who, for a variety of reasons, move from school to school during the course of their educational journey. One of five children, Seals’ family frequently moved around the St. Louis area early in her life. Seals counts this variety of experiences as a blessing.
“The lives of my students parallel mine in many ways, and my upbringing helps me identify with them and make connections with them,” Seals said.
“I knew I wanted a better life, and I knew that I was going to college. But not everyone’s trajectory is to go to college. We as educators have to be transparent of our own experiences, and understand what it was like to be a young person and not know what your life’s trajectory is. So I use my own personal experiences to encourage kids not to give up.”
That “never give up” attitude has served Seals well throughout her professional career. Seals has raised three daughters, whom she called her greatest blessings, earned a doctorate in education and ascended to principal quicker than any other SLPS employee.
“I believe energy leads and guides you, and I try to be authentic and transparent as a leader – I call this heart work,” Seals said. “It’s all about the heart – that’s how you make real connections with staff, teachers, students and parents. I am proud to have a strong spiritual base and mental stamina to stay calm and poised in difficult situations, and keep my energy balanced to see light at the end of tunnels.”
Principal Seals has earned numerous awards for leadership, most recently the 2016 Exemplary Principal of the Year from the St. Louis Area Secondary School Principals, and the 2011 Pettus Principal of the Year Award. Receiving the Excellence in Education Award from the St. Louis American Foundation serves as validation of the positive work being done by the entire CVPA team, Seals notes.
“This award is much bigger than me. It’s the one local award that recognizes your collective work, but it truly is a blessing and honor to receive it,” Seals said. “It all boils down to our kids. We can’t give up.”
Seals believes her calling is to be right where she is, inspiring her students and her own children to achieve whatever they desire.
“When you have faith, God can use you to be the vessel to shine the light for others,” Seals said. “I know others are looking at me for inspiration and hope. I am walking in my true calling, and my desire and prayer is that God use me as a vessel of hope.”
