ST. LOUIS — Kacy Shahid has resigned as principal of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School after writing about the trauma of surviving a school shooting.
A graduate of the school on south Kingshighway broke into the school Oct. 24 with an assault rifle and killed sophomore Alexzandria Bell, 15, and health teacher Jean Kuczka, 61, and wounded four other students.
Students came back to in-person classes Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, after a former student fatally shot a student and teacher in October.
In the days following the shooting, Shahid represented the school at press conferences, vigils and the funerals and even helped Alexzandria’s mother, Keisha Acres, pick out the teenager’s casket. The principal became a prominent voice for post-traumatic stress and the need for gun legislation.
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Students returned to virtual classes in November and in-person at CVPA in January. Shahid, who was the beloved principal of the school for eight years, then took a sabbatical to focus “on my personal growth and healing journey,†she wrote in a Facebook post in March.
“I understand post-traumatic growth and the changes and transformations that can occur after a traumatic situation. However, the weeks/months following the event were overwhelming and I was challenged as I attempted to prioritize my self-care needs,†Shahid wrote.
Shahid wrote a guided self-care journal called “Heartwork†in the spring and has recently spoken about trauma-informed care at various education conferences. Earlier this month, she traveled to Washington to meet with lawmakers including U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, to discuss school safety and gun violence legislation. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona released a of Shahid and other educators who had survived school shootings.
“I would describe this as my worst nightmare,†Shahid says in the video. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Jean Kuczka and Alexzandria Bell. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about my students who are survivors and my teachers who are survivors. ... Extending grace is the best thing we can ask for right now and having compassion is what I would say is needed.â€
After the shooting, Shahid became one of 22 members of the Principal Recovery Network with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, a support group formed in 2019. Half of the group’s members have now left the schools where they experienced a shooting.
The school district confirmed Shahid’s departure on Wednesday.
“We at Saint Louis Public Schools are sad to see Dr. Kacy Shahid leave as principal of her alma mater, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (CVPA). She will be greatly missed by all of us at SLPS, and, most notably, her CVPA family,†the district said in a statement. “Despite our disappointment, we support her aspirations and wish her the very best in her future endeavors.â€
Shahid did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for SLPS said there are three openings for principals among the district’s 60 schools. Amy Phillips, principal of Gateway STEM High School in south ºüÀêÊÓƵ, told her staff this week that she is taking a job at CVPA.
