Communication arts teacher Erica Wagner has been teaching since 2013. She is also the head varsity coach for Timberland cheer.

“My favorite thing about Ms. Wagner’s class is that it’s not completely teacher-driven and that students get to have more of a say in what we do,” sophomore Andrew Willis said.

Wagner describes teaching as exhausting, but also fun and challenging. She said that, unlike other jobs, you must love teaching, not for the money but for the connection and impact you make on your students.

“I love teaching, and my favorite part of it is definitely the creativity that I get to use. No day is the same as the last day and every year there’s something different that I get to create and come up with,” Wagner said.

But all Wagner’s time isn’t spent in the classroom. She started coaching cheer in 2014, in part because she liked cheering as a kid and also because THS needed a JV coach. Wagner said she was excited to grab the opportunity and get back into the sport.

“It is so much fun working with Ms. Wagner, I enjoy coming to work every day because of her. She has great ideas and she is just really great with kids, and cares about kids, and wants to make a difference in their lives and I feel like I’m the same way so we really get along well because of that,” communication arts teacher April Smith said.

Wagner was born and raised in St. Peters and went to Fort Zumwalt South High School where she played softball and cheered, before attending Lindenwood. She graduated in 2013 with degrees in English literature and secondary education and a minor in history.