Brianna Coppage Missouri English teacher at St Clair High School suspended after it’s revealed she has an OnlyFans account as educator says she was forced to beef up meager income as incident raises volley of questions.
Is being a high school teacher and an OnlyFans model involved in the adult industry mutually in excusable? Or morally bankrupt? Or should what an educator does after school hours remain their own business and not that of their school employer?
The above questions and more are being raised following reports of an English teacher in Missouri being placed on suspension after the school district finding out the teacher at St Clair High School also having an OnlyFans account. The platform allows creators to post explicit content and charge subscribers a fee.
The St. Clair School District launched an investigation into Brianna Coppage, 28, over her side gig shortly after rumblings of the account swept through the community, roughly 55 miles southwest of St. Louis.
‘Hanging over my head…’
‘It was kind of always like this cloud hanging over my head, like I never knew when I would be discovered,’ Coppage told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
‘Then, about two weeks ago, my husband and I were told that people were finding out about it. So I knew this day was coming.’
The freshman and sophomore English teacher said she was motivated to launch her adults content account over the summer to bolster her ‘meager’ educator’s salary — which earned her $42,000 last year, public records show.
Coppage’s OnlyFans channel raked in between $8,000 and $10,000 per month, which has since doubled following the news of her suspension.
District superintendent Kyle Kruse told the Dispatch in a statement that the district was ‘recently notified that an employee may have posted inappropriate media on one or more internet sites.’
Coppage’s status with the district will hinge on the results of an investigation being carried out by legal counsel hired by the district in accordance with board police, Kruse said.
Expectations of teachers to be moral leaders
‘(The district says) they haven’t made a decision yet, but I’m just kind of putting the pieces together that I am not coming back,’ Coppage said.
‘I’m very aware that I am probably never going to teach again, but that was kind of the risk I knew I was taking. I am sad about that. I do miss my students.’
Coppage insisted that she never filmed content or posted to the account while she was on school grounds.
While Coppage acknowledges the expectation for teachers to be moral leaders, she insists that her personal life and teaching career are separate. She taught the curriculum without imposing her beliefs on her students. Coppage is saddened by the prospect of not being able to teach again, but she strongly believes that she has not done anything illegal. Her husband, who is not facing any disciplinary action, has been supportive throughout the ordeal.
‘There is this expectation that teachers should be the moral leaders of students, and I do not disagree with that … I taught the curriculum. I taught students reading and writing, and I didn’t guide them on my thoughts or beliefs. … And I can’t control what people think of me. I just know that who I am as a person, I’m not doing anything illegal. I am a good friend. I am a good family member. That is all I can think about right now.’
Despite the backlash, Coppage and her husband have no plans to move from their home in St. Clair. They stand by their decision to join OnlyFans, viewing sex work as a legitimate profession that should not be stigmatized. Coppage wishes that the situation could have unfolded differently, but she does not regret her choice.
This episode sheds light on the challenges faced by educators who struggle with low salaries and the lengths they may go to supplement their income. It also raises questions about the boundaries between personal and professional lives, and the expectations placed on teachers as moral figures. The controversy surrounding Coppage’s OnlyFans account has sparked a broader conversation about the legitimacy and acceptance of sex work.
A change org petition set up by a relative of a student attending the school has to date received 104 out of 200 necessary signatures.
