Clever. Cerebral. Witty. Amiable. There are many vocabulary words to describe Christian Schaeffer, Parkway Central’s Teacher of the Year, who is well known for his lexicon. Now he can add winner to his descriptors. The Teacher of the Year process starts with teachers nominating other teachers, followed up by rounds of voting .

“Schaeffer is the kind of teacher that I hope all kids get to experience at least once in their lives,” his anonymous nominator explained. “He provides thought-provoking lessons in his classroom, and pushes the students to question. He is not content to let them accept things as is, but to truly ask why things are done the way they are. If the students aren’t satisfied with the answers they get, Mr. Schaeffer encourages them to seek solutions.”

Schaeffer has been a teacher for 17 years, 11 at Parkway Central. Although teaching is his priority, Schaeffer has been in the journalism world for years. Schaeffer hosted a radio show on KDHX, and as a college student wrote for the SLU newspaper and continued freelance as an Riverfront Times music critic. To say Schaeffer is experienced is an understatement. His passion for writing and teaching truly shows through dedication to his students and their work.

Matthew Bird (11) is in Schaeffer’s AP English Languange and Composition class and is very influenced by his teaching.

“Mr. Schaeffer taught me in a way that completely changed my view on writing, but more importantly than his skills as a teacher; he is a good teacher because he cares about the student. Whenever he sees something going on in our lives he always offers himself as a resource for us to talk to,” Bird said.

Schaeffer isn’t just a classroom teacher but contributes to the student body in many other ways.

“Mr. Schaeffer also works tirelessly outside the classroom as a [track] coach, debate team leader, and club sponsor,” his nominator said.

“We’re all so grateful that Mr. Schaeffer filled in during Mrs. Rudolph’s maternity leave. Without his support, we wouldn’t have been able to start the season off successfully or probably even compete at the first few tournaments,” said Gaaya Binoj (11), speech and debate team member.

Schaeffer is a fixture in the English hallway, jovially greeting colleagues and students.

“When kids greet him in the hall, there is a warmth on both sides…a level of trust and familiarity that I don’t see with many teachers,” his nomination reads. “He cares for the whole child, not just the academic side, but the student as an individual. He is a truly remarkable educator that we can all learn from.”

Schaeffer’s priority is not the material he is teaching but rather the students in his classroom.

“I particularly like working with high school students, who are in the process of figuring out the kind of person they want to be,” Schaeffer said.

Schaeffer loves to learn and help other people learn which is one of the many reasons he was nominated for this award. He’s also modest and when asked about his award, acknowledges that the building is full of great educators.

“There are many, many excellent teachers in our building and I hope I can represent one little part of the good work that happens at PCH,” Schaeffer said.