From the St. Louis American:
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.
…
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.
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.
