A logo of Jeep is seen outside a car dealer in Nijmegen, Netherlands February 26, 2025. © REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
(Wichita, KS) – They weren’t working on an art project, and she wasn’t his driver’s ed teacher. But a 30-year-old former teacher of the month and her 17-year-old student allegedly spent some close time together in the backseat of a Jeep. That’s the claim of prosecutors in Wichita, Kansas, where Nikki Baird now faces charges.
News outlets have published photo of the brunette, in both a mugshot and happier times.
In January of 2020, Baird was lauded as “Teacher of the Month.” Now she’s looking at potential prison time, for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with a male she had first met when he was in middle school. Eventually, she started working at Wichita North High School — around the time the student in question moved up from junior high. A court affidavit alleges the pair got sexual in early 2024: “(the student) described how she befriended him, then isolated him from others.”
Baird is accused of initiating physical contact by “touching or rubbing his back or shoulders,” and then forcing hugs on the boy. Court docs suggest she also sent him letters, reading “I hope and pray one day I get the chance to be with you, and even “I know that I love you.” This is despite the fact Baird is 13-years older than the boy, he’s a minor, and she’s married. The entire affair escalated to the point where prosecutors say Baird and the boy even met off-campus. In an especially sick twist, the boy’s mom had given permission — because she thought it was for a trip to the arts center.
Court documents allege Baird and the boy first held hands on that trip. Things were hardly hidden at school — if prosecutors are to be believed. They say she kissed the boy on the neck during hugs on school grounds and asked over and over if “he wanted her to kiss him.” Despite testifying he felt nervous, the boy “eventually said yes” to the taboo kiss.
As is so often the case with sexual abuse of minors, Baird is alleged to have told the boy to “act normal” and keep their relationship secret. Things got hot and heavy in her office during the final days of his senior year — allegedly — and Baird asked him to meet her on a random street for an encounter on graduation night. While the student told cops he “was nervous and felt pressured” Baird allegedly told him it was “okay” because of his impending graduation.
That was however untrue given his age. Not to mention her position as a teacher. Prosecutors say there were up to four trysts inside Baird’s Jeep.
Among their illicit encounters, Baird is accused of offering the teen alcohol (which he refused) and of sending the teen nude photos. Apparently he provided those to investigators — as well as love notes.
After the teen ended the relationship, Baird allegedly continued to contact him and once left candy — on his car — which was parked in his driveway. The court documents’ release just brought this to light but she was arrested back in May, posted a $50,000 bond, and was then released days later. She faces four felony counts and will be arraigned later this month.
