Former St. Clair High School teacher Brianna Coppage, whose OnlyFans page was reported to district officials, is sharing her side of the story.
“I’ve definitely gone through a grieving process, especially during that first week and second week,” Coppage said. “Just knowing I won’t be going back to education and I won’t ever be seeing my students again in the classroom. That was tough.”
Coppage had been a teacher for five years, spending the last two at St. Clair High School as an English teacher before resigning.
Former high school teacher Brianna Coppage, whose OnlyFans page was reported to district officials, is sharing her side of the story.
“It’s just those connections I’m going to miss,” Coppage said. “Being there for students and celebrating milestones with them.”
Coppage says her yearly teaching salary was $42,000.
As a way to earn more money, she started posting on the website OnlyFans, a subscription-based website that allows creators to connect with users.
“Missouri is one of the lowest states in the nation for teacher pay,” Coppage said. “The district I was working for is also one of the lowest paying districts in the state. I feel like times are tough. I have student loans. I have multiple degrees in education, and it would be helpful for extra money.”
Coppage uses her account to post explicit content, but when she started, she avoided showing her face because of her job as a teacher.
“A lot of people asking why didn’t you just get a part-time job somewhere,” Coppage said. “That seems like that would’ve worked better, but teachers also take all of their work home. We don’t get to stop working when we leave the school day. We don’t get to grade all 130 students’ papers during the day. It’s just not possible when you’re teaching, so we take that work home with us on the evenings and on the weekends. Getting a second job is really not possible.”
The St. Clair School District said in a statement it was notified of the posts by an individual not affiliated with the school.
“Our handbook policies are very vague and just say something about represent yourself well,” Coppage said. “Did I violate that? I feel like that’s a matter of opinion.”
Once it gained so much attention in the community and even across the country, Coppage said she knew she couldn’t go back to the classroom.
Coppage said a link to her account was posted in a St. Clair Facebook group, and that’s when she decided to resign.
“I’m not advertising it to students, but adults in the community continue to do so,” Coppage said. “I just don’t think that’s OK. Students were never meant to see this. I know people are saying, ‘You taught high school. They were bound to find it at some point.’ Maybe. I was faceless. I did not use my real name.”
With tens of thousands of subscribers, Coppage said in a month on OnlyFans, she makes more than she did in a year as a teacher.
“I’ve been able to pay off all my student loans, any car loans, any credit card debt. I have no debt now, and that’s really freeing,” Coppage said. “Being a teacher, I know I never would have been able to fully pay all of that off.”
Coppage said if teachers are held to a high standard, she wants to see them paid accordingly.
In response to a request for information, the St. Clair R-XIII School District confirmed that “the employee has submitted an unsolicited, voluntary resignation, and has decided to move forward in a different direction.”
The St. Clair R-XIII School District’s statement, signed by superintendent Dr. Kyle Kruse, also reads in part:
“We also want to take this opportunity to clarify some misconceptions that were previously shared in the community and on social media. The district was notified of the social media posts by an individual who was not affiliated with the district and who was not from St. Clair. District officials did not discover the website. The district immediately retained legal counsel for assistance, due to the sensitivity of the matter and to protect the integrity of the investigation. The district was advised to, and did, take all possible steps to ensure confidentiality. Nevertheless, the situation became known to the media through third parties and was discussed in the community and elsewhere. We were deeply disappointed that this negative attention was brought to our community, but we were also limited in how we could respond.”