Photo by Erin Nelson.
Ronald Steele in the foyer at John Carroll Catholic High School on July 17. Steele was recently named the new principal at the school.
Ronald Steele Jr. walked the halls of John Carroll Catholic High School as a student from 2000 to 2004.
At the time, he could see himself becoming a coach or teacher one day (both of his parents were teachers), but he never imagined he would one day become principal, he said.
That became a reality in June when Steele was selected to replace Anthony Montalto in John Carroll’s principal role. Steele has been the school’s athletic director for the past six years.
The Rev. Jon Chalmers, John Carroll’s president, said in a press release that he’s confident that the school’s leadership team, led by Steele, will steward John Carroll’s proud legacies and ensure that the school remains “boldly Catholic, academically excellent and rooted in truth.”
As athletic director, Steele improved the quality of the athletic program while building out critical initiatives focused on education of the whole person, virtue development and relationships with partner schools, the school said in a statement.
Steele said he plans to use that same framework for guiding the entire school, focusing on developing students holistically and looking for more ways to engage the broader community and partner with the six Catholic schools that feed into John Carroll. That includes expanding his virtue and character development program from athletes to the entire student body and using outreach programs, such as sports camps, to cultivate relationships with the community at large.
Steele said he is excited about the new job and humbled that the community and leadership of the school believed in him to move John Carroll forward.
“It’s a great school with a great tradition,” he said. “I really look forward to continuing the great traditions that John Carroll has had.”
Other goals include continuing to attract and retain high-quality educators who can prepare John Carroll’s students for college; growing the school’s robotics, science, technology, engineering and math programs; and teaching students how to use artificial intelligence in a positive way.
While Steele was a student at John Carroll, he was named “Mr. Basketball” for Alabama in 2003 and 2004. He went on to play for the University of Alabama and was a pre-season All-American in 2007, but an injury forced him to sit out that season. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in financial planning in December 2007 and went on to play professional basketball in Europe for several years.
In 2015, he was hired to coach girls basketball and assist with the boys team at John Carroll. He did that for one year and then took a job as assistant athletic director and boys basketball coach at Cornerstone High School. After a year in that role, he answered the call to come back to John Carroll as athletic director and boys basketball coach. He also has been helping with girls basketball and other sports, he said.
A year ago, Steele completed his master’s degree studies in educational leadership and administration at Marymount University.
Even with his promotion to principal, Steele is going to continue coaching the boys basketball team. He said basketball is a passion for him, and he believes the program has been excelling and he wants to have some continuity there.
To offset his lack of experience in academics, Steele also has hired Katie King as John Carroll’s new director of curriculum and instruction. King was one of his teachers when he was at John Carroll, and she has gone on to be an assistant principal at several schools over the years, including John Carroll, Prince of Peace Catholic School and Simmons Middle School in Hoover.
This past year, he brought her to John Carroll as a cross-country coach, and he believes she will help round out the leadership team that includes John Carroll Assistant Principal Banyon Allison.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:53 p.m. on Aug. 4 to correct the middle school where Katie King was previously assistant principal. It was Simmons Middle School.
