St. Louis Teacher Tera Myers Resigns After Student Finds Out About Her Porn Star Past

It's the history lesson one Missouri teacher hoped she would never have to cover.

St. Louis science teacher Tera Myers stepped down Friday after a student confronted her about her past working as an actress in X-rated films.

The 38-year-old Parkway North High School educator -- who starred in pornographic videos in the 1990s under the name Rikki Andersin -- has been placed on administrative leave, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

She will be paid through the rest of the school year but will not teach classes or return to her post next year.

Myers decided to resign "out of respect for her privacy and that of her family," Paul Tandy, a spokesman for the school district, told the New York Daily News.

"We're surprised, very surprised," Tandy said. "At the same time we feel for her and her family. We do believe she has tried to move on with her life. ... Unfortunately, even though it happened 15 years ago, [the video] is still there."

This isn't the first time that Myers' X-rated exploits have interfered with her career as a teacher.

In 2006, Myers came under fire for her adult film past in Kentucky, where she was teaching at Reidland High School under the name Tericka Dye.

Myers fought to keep her job and her story became national news. She even spoke with Dr. Phil, claiming that acting in porn was the worst decision she made at a point when she was desperate, bipolar and a homeless mother of two.

westkentuckystar.com

Tera Myers was granted administrative leave from her teaching job in suburban St. Louis after informing administrators about her porn star past.

"I did live with the fear that somehow, someday, it would catch up with me. I just didn't know that it would ruin me," she said, according to the show's website.

Five years ago, Myers defended herself in the press.

"I didn't do anything criminal, I did something stupid, but I didn't hurt anybody except myself. They treated me like I was a criminal," she told Fox News at the time.

"Students know that I was one of them, as opposed to a lot of teachers who come across as holier than thou. I can be a shining example to kids of someone who overcame their mistakes," she explained.

Despite her pleas, Myers wasn't able to hold onto her job in Kentucky. But she found a position teaching science at the St. Louis high school, where she worked for the past four years and coached the girls volleyball team -- until Friday.

A school district spokesman told the press that Myers' history as a porn star didn't come up during background or reference checks because she broke no laws by acting in adult films.

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