December 04, 2025
One year ago, Zac Warr was wrapping up an internship in City Academy’s Communications Department, designing posters and rediscovering the school that shaped him as a child. He imagined his next step might be in marketing or strategic communications. Then, just as his internship was ending, the art teacher role opened. The timing felt serendipitous. “I saw myself going into this StratCom marketing, digital marketing world,” Warr said. “And then I thought, I’m an artist. I think this would be good.”
That decision carried him into his first year of teaching, a year filled with challenges, growth, and moments of pride. For Warr, a 2011 City Academy graduate, it also made history: he became the first alumnus to return to City Academy as a full-time teacher. “It’s a special feeling — especially coming into the position that I came into as an art teacher, replacing my old art teacher here,” he said. “So that was in and of itself a full circle moment.”
Warr began his City Academy journey in 2008 when his family moved to St. Louis from Virginia. He entered in fourth grade, where his interests in books, geography, and art began to take shape. He vividly recalls a clay bird sculpture he made that still sits at his grandmother’s house. But even more than the projects, it was the way art was valued that stayed with him. “I really want to continue that for the students, and also get them into the habit of taking pride in the things that they do,” Warr said. “You made this. You might not like it, but let’s put it in a frame and see how much it changes. Even just a frame can make something become something else.”
After graduating from City Academy, Warr attended Saint Louis Priory School before pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art at the University of Kansas, where he also minored in Strategic Communication. He later earned a master’s degree in the Business of Art and Design at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Alongside his studies, his creative interests expanded into fashion, laying the groundwork for his clothing company LAKAYsanon, a luxury streetwear brand inspired by Afro-Caribbean heritage and rooted in sustainable craftsmanship.
“Clothing is an expression of self,” Warr said. “Teaching this past year has almost amplified [the business] because I’m telling the kids to believe in themselves and be creative — and I’m telling myself the same thing.” The brand’s name, which translates to “House of Sanon” in Haitian Creole, honors his heritage while pointing toward a future rooted in sustainability.
Despite growing up surrounded by educators — his father Kip Warr teaches sixth grade humanities at City Academy — Warr never envisioned himself in the classroom. But when the opportunity aligned with his internship, the timing proved impossible to ignore.
Once in the classroom, Warr quickly discovered that the real work of teaching went beyond his own artistic intuition. “Biggest learning curve? I guess just teaching,” he said with a laugh. “The way I learn best is to just do it. But translating that into how do I teach? That was hard, because now I’m dealing with other people, and how they learn is completely different.”
Teaching students as young as junior kindergarten and as old as sixth grade required him to adapt constantly. For younger children, it meant introducing the basics before diving into the art itself. “My favorite saying is ‘a drop, not a lot,’ for paint and glue,” Warr said. With older students, he shifted the focus to critical thinking and creativity.
Two projects stood out as highlights from his first year. Printmaking captivated students with its tactile process of carving, painting, and pressing. Self-portraits, initially met with hesitation, turned into a source of pride. “Almost no one wanted to do self-portraits last year, but now that’s one of the things they like the most — which is what I was hoping for,” Warr said.
His work extended beyond art projects. Warr also values teaching life skills, drawing inspiration from a leadership program he experienced at City Academy as a student. He attempted to carry this forward through an Extended Day club called How to Be with Mr. Z, which introduced etiquette and respect. “Rules and structure aren’t inherently to make your life bad,” he said. “In some ways they keep you safe, in some ways they help you fit in. And also, they’re just cool life skills to have.”
Collaboration with colleagues became another defining piece of his teaching. He sought opportunities not only for larger projects (such as making masks in collaboration with Social Studies Teacher Linnet Early) but also for small reinforcements of what students were already learning. Fine motor skills like cutting and gluing, practiced in art, directly supported classroom success. “Some of the younger kids struggled with things like cutting in straight lines, but after practicing with scissors here, it wasn’t hard anymore,” Warr said. “That’s one of the silent wins of art class.”
As he enters his second year, Warr is eager to expand opportunities for his students. He plans to introduce ceramics projects for sixth graders, explore digital art using Chromebooks, and display student work more prominently throughout the building. Field trips to local museums and sculpture parks are also on his agenda. “I want to expand the type of art we get to do and expose them to things they might not otherwise do on their own,” Warr said.