Lillie Rose Ernst

Lillie Rose Ernst (September 14, 1870 – December 6, 1943) was an American educator. She was the mentor of the Potters, an informal group of women artists in early 20th-century St. Louis, Missouri, and the first woman to become assistant superintendent of instruction in the St. Louis public school system.

Early life Lillie Rose Ernst was born on September 14, 1870, in St. Louis. Her family was from the middle class and she was the youngest of six children. She first attended Clay School and Ames School, and then Central High School. She went to Washington University in St. Louis, graduating magna cum laude in 1892, one of the first twelve women to graduate from this college.

She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. As a founding member and vice-president of the Washington University Women's Alumnae Association, she received an honorary M.A. degree in 1907. In 1920, she told her students: It is our playtime that should net us re-creation, enthusiasm for work, joy for living, ever-widening fields for thought, deeper thrillings of the soul, reverence, and an ever growing consciousness and comprehension of truth and beauty and law.

In 1920, Ernst became assistant to the Superintendent of Instruction, the first woman to hold the title in the St. Louis public school system. A group of male principals protested Ernst's appointment to the position, believing as one said, that the promotion of a woman as superintendent "would tend to disrupt the school system". Public demonstrations followed, led by women's groups such as the League of Women Voters and members of the school board, and her nomination as superintendent was successful. who dedicated a sonnet to Ernst which begins:

Personal life

Ernst's house on 6058 Kingsbury Boulevard, St. Louis, was built in 1910 and designed by architect Francis De Menil. It is part of the Skinker DeBaliviere Historic District.

Ernst never married and she lived with her two unmarried sisters. (Until 1947, women teachers in the public school system were forced to retire if they married.) Ernst died in St. Louis, on December 6, 1943.