Anna Schaper (s-kop-pur), otherwise known as Mrs. Schaper, is one of Linganore High School’s (LHS) most recent additions to the staff.
By the end of high school Schaper knew she wanted to be an English Teacher. A Houston, Texas native, she attended Texas A&M University to attain her bachelor’s degree.
Following her graduation, she began her teaching career at an all-boys’ school in New York City, before moving back to Houston, where she continued teaching while earning her masters’ in English at the University of St. Thomas.
Once Schaper finished her own education, she moved overseas, living and teaching in both England then Germany. After moving back to the United States, she settled in Maryland, where she began teaching at New Market Middle school in Frederick. She taught there for about five years before making her way to Linganore.
Schaper teaches English 9 and 10 at Linganore and will teach English 101, the dual enrollment class in the spring.
“I’m very passionate about my subject matter,” Schaper said. “I love English, I love literature, I love books.”
While Schaper did not always want to be a teacher, she said there were signs in childhood, such as pretending to teach her stuffed animals English.
“There must have been something in me that knew I wanted to teach, but I just didn’t know it,” Schaper said.
Coming into a new school can be difficult, even for a teacher. However, Schaper has had an easy transition thus far. She has enjoyed her time in the Linganore community; many of her previous students from New Market Middle School now attend Linganore. For Schaper, getting to see how her students have grown is “awesome.”
She shared that she appreciates the high expectations for both students and staff here at LHS. Schaper knew she wanted to eventually teach at Linganore, since she had started her teaching career at a high school; she wanted to come back to teaching high schoolers.
Schaper is not just a teacher, though. In her free time, she is also a writer, having published her book “Wishbone” in 2020. The book follows fifteen-year-old Pilar, who struggles with her body image and self identity as a Mexican-American in the 21st century. Schaper’s inspiration came from the increase in suicides amongst teens due to bullying. Pilar struggles to overcome these issues, but with the help of her family, she manages to find her voice.
“I wanted some positive words out there, for those kids in particular,” Schaper said.
Her passion for writing translates to her passion for teaching. She enjoys educating her students in how to write as well. She takes pride in recognizing strong young authors in her classroom and never underestimating the capability of people at the high school age.
Even though Schaper is a new member of the Linganore school community, her students already have positive words to say about her.
Maeve Lucas, a freshman at LHS and one of Schaper’s middle school students, said, “I think it’s really awesome [Schaper is teaching at Linganore] because she’s just a really good teacher, and it’s nice to have some familiarity from middle school.”
With the crowds of students wanting to talk to her in the hallways, Schaper appears to be on her way to meeting her goal of creating personal connections with her students.
