Augsburg Fairview Academy

Staff Contact List

Heidi Anderson, College/Career Readiness Coordinator and Essentials Program Managing Teacher

B.A., Social Studies, History & Secondary Education, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

I attended the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and earned my BA in Broadfield Social Studies, History and Secondary Education. I also have my TESOL certification in the state if WI. I have one year of teaching experience at a small school in west-central Wisconsin, where I taught World History and ESL. I was also the head girls track coach.

Caitlin Badger, Arts Coordinator

B.M., Music Education, St. Olaf College

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will . . .” – Jane Eyre

Caitlin Badger recently graduated from St. Olaf College where she studied vocal music. She joined the Augsburg Fairview Academy faculty in 2009 as the arts coordinator and teacher.

While I went to college in Minnesota, I grew up and went to high school in Illinois. In my free time I love spending time outside hiking, camping, and canoeing. I love good music. good food, and good company. I also love to travel and have been lucky enough to study theater in Russia and teach in Hawaii.

I have spent the past two summers working with students from St. Paul high schools who have shown me how amazing high school students are. One of the best parts about working with students is how much I learn from them everyday!

Ron Bentley, Special Education

M.Ed Educational Psychology, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD
M.S. Special Education, Emotional Behavior – St Cloud State University
B.Ed Middle School Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
B.A. Psychology and Science – Laurentian in Ontario

Education is a journey, not a destination.

Mr. Ron Bentley has 27 years of teaching experience at elementary, middle school, high school, traditional public and alternative schools. He has nine years of administration experience in various schools in Canada, including two schools in a native Canadian reservation project. He also has experience as a Teacher Therapist at an Adult Correctional Facility. He holds various certifications including Life, Space, Crisis Intervention (LSCI), and Response Abilities Training.

Mr. Bentley joined the Augsburg Fairview Academy staff as Special Education teacher in 2004. He moved to Minnesota from Canada when he met his wife at a conference. He is an avid hockey player and he plays for the “All Stars” recreation team. Ron has a great sense of humor and is a joy to be around.

I enjoy the students at Augsburg; they energize me like the mystical fountain of youth promised to do for Ponce de Leon.

There is only “one” sport and that sport is “HOCKEY.” All the rest are interesting pastimes, My wife is my best friend and the reason that I try to be better every day. I love all food but if it is well made then even better…..we are lucky to have two chefs in the family.

Faaria Husain, Foundations Career and College Readiness and Essentials English Teacher

BA, Communication Arts & Literature/Secondary Education, College of St. Catherine

I recently graduated from the College of St.Catherine with a Bachelor’s in Communication Arts/Literature as well as a Secondary Education license. In my free time I enjoy reading, taking naps, and spending time with my four year old son. My philosophy towards teaching and education in general is that it is all about relevance. Give a student a lyric from their favorite song to describe metaphor and they’re hooked. I truly believe that everyone learns differently and for many youth creating situations for students to relate the world only enhances their bond with their community and belief in themself.

Bart Johnson, Science

B.S., Biology & Comprehensive Science, St. Cloud State University

We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams. — Willy Wonka

Bart joined the Augsburg Fairview faculty in 2007 as the science teacher. He previously taught for seven years at Sheboygan Falls High School in Wisconsin and one year at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial High School near Mankato.

I enjoy science because of its connections to other aspects of life. Understanding how the universe works is pretty cool, but seeing how science is related to one’s own life is what keeps it interesting. I believe that learning about science is an active process, and that building objects, using tools, exploring, etc. are the best ways to learn about science.

I live in Minneapolis with my wife, Ruth Wollersheim. She is completing a Doctorate program in Modern Studies. She teaches college English and film studies classes. We have a cat named Gertrude and a dog named Arthur.

During the summer of 2004, Ruth, her family and I traveled to Arusha, Tanzania in East Africa. We went with a delegation headed by her father who is the Bishop of Northern Illinois in the ELCA. It was an incredible experience.

Here are a list of some movies worth seeing: Sicko!, The Professional, The City of Lost Children, Amelie, Apocalypse Now Redux, High Fidelity, Children of Heaven, Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Do the Right Thing, Ghost World and (of course) Napoleon Dynamite.

I love music! Especially indie rock. I used to work at KVSC, a college radio station, when I went to school at St. Cloud State University. I was also in four indie rock/garage rock bands. Some of my current recommendations are the latest from Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, The debut album from Minneapolis’ own, Ice Palace – Bright Leaf Left, and The Shins’ – Wincing the Night Away.

Jessica Lee, Health & Wellness

B.A., Health Education and Technology Certification, University of Minnesota

Never give up hope because without it, you have nothing.

Jessica deals with all aspects of wellness in the school. She organizes health screening, runs the lunch program, and organizes student memberships at the YMCA. She is also responsible for student records. Jess represents the staff on the Academy’s board of directors and joined the staff in the summer of 2006.

I enjoy my job because the class sizes are smaller and therefore I get to know every one of my students. My responsibilities all have to do with health but are different from each other so I am able to work with students on many different levels. I also enjoy enrolling students because I get the chance to meet them the first day that they are at the school and am able to get to know them right when they start.

Working with the YMCA is also a favorite role of mine because fitness is one of my main hobbies. Other hobbies of mine are downhill skiing, hiking, and volleyball.

My favorite snacks include candy, which many of the students know, and it is always fat-free so that makes it somewhat healthy.

Tom Matuseski, Math

B.S. Mathematics and Secondary Education, Bemidji State University

Problems cannot be solved by the level of awareness that created them. — Albert Einstein

Mr. Matuseski joined the Augsburg Fairview faculty in Fall 2007 as the math teacher.

I especially like the math that is used to describe the world around us and how it is used to try to explain how the things in our universe work.

I am from northern Minnesota and enjoy the outdoors. I am an avid cook, and my mother and grandfather introduced me to Italian cooking at a very young age. I met my wife while we were both working in Tokyo, Japan. She is from Canada.

Kitty Patraw, Operations Manager

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life. — Jesus (John 3:16)

Kitty oversees government reporting and business management for the Academy. She joined the staff in March 2006.

I love doing my job because it is different every day; also I love to work on problems and get them solved. I have been married to a great man for 21 years. I have 3 awesome teenagers. We go to church in Oakdale at Cornerstone Community Church. I love Jalepeno Jelly, and I love to read Christian Fiction.

Kendra Perry, English

M.L.I.S., Library & Information Science, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
M.A., English (Language), Andrews University
B.A., English (Writing) & German, Andrews University

“To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” — Confucius

Kendra joined the Augsburg Fairview faculty in 2007 as the English teacher. She has been teaching English, German, and ESL at various levels since 1998.

I love helping people communicate with each other through writing, reading, speaking, and learning other languages. We all have such diverse backgrounds and experiences and have so much to learn from each other. It’s great to see that connection happen between people.

My husband, Jay, and I recently moved to the Minneapolis area with our son, Nathaniel. Jay is a church planter who will be working in the Shakopee area. Nathaniel is a pre-schooler who’s currently obsessed with vehicles and cooking shows.

In my spare time (what little I have!), I enjoy surfing the Internet, reading, and dreaming about travel. I’m hoping our next big trip will be to New Zealand, but we’ll see!

Bill Spira, Lead Teacher & Executive Director

Ph.D., Bacteriology
M.S., Bacteriology
B.S. Bacteriology

Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk. — Carl Jung

Dr. Spira is the Executive Director and Lead Teacher at Augsburg Fairview Academy. He helped to start the Academy in 2005 after teaching at Minneapolis South High School for seven years and serving as Science Department Chair for four years.

Dr. Spira was an Associate Professor of International Health at The Johns Hopkins University in the 70’s and 80’s, then spent the 90’s in private business. He lived in Bangladesh for two years conducting cholera research. He also lived in Peru for nine years where he founded an international non-profit organization to improve health in developing countries. He is a Vietnam Veteran. He is fluent in Spanish and is able to read in Portuguese, French and German.

Dr. Spira has been married to Harriet, his wife and best friend, for 42 years. Together, they enjoy reading, camping, symphony concerts and going to movies. They have three great children and seven wonderful grandchildren. Their older daughter is an attorney in Madison, Wisconsin; their son is an English teacher in South Korea; and their younger daughter is an Arabic specialist with the National Security Agency.

Neliya Tkachenko, English as a Second Language

-M.A. Education, ESL, University of Minnesota.
Majors: Curriculum and Instruction
-B.A. Education, World Literature, Chernovtsy State
University, the Ukraine.
Majors: Languages and Cultures
Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Majors: ESL, College English, Information Literacy

Dreams
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Nelly’s teaching career back in the Ukraine was a starting point for her decision to become an ESL teacher here, in the United States. She had ESL and College English classes at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and she knows from her own experience what ESL students confront in their daily school life.

I was born in Russia, lived and emigrated from the Ukraine where I taught World literature and Russian Language to the Middle and High School students. With my students, I visited Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, and got used to many differences in other cultures. I learned very much about different ways of seeing and being in the world.

I want to give my students the encouragement they need to succed in their academic endeavors and in real life.

Lori Walz, Social Studies

M.A- Instruction- Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
M.A.- Psychology – St. Cloud State University
B.A- Psychology- St. Cloud State University

Licensures- Education: Grades 5-12 Social Studies and Middle School Development, in both Michigan and Minnesota.Social Work Licensures (2): Licensed Independent Social Worker and K-12 School Social Worker- State of MN.

Lori brings a background of over twenty years experience as a government and non-profit administrator, medical and family social worker and educator in both K-12 and higher education to her work at Augsburg Fairview Academy.

I am extremely pleased to be able to meld the whole of my teaching and life experiences to the Augsburg Fairview Academy of Health Careers. I love teaching from a “real life perspective”, to mentor students in a way that will bring social studies to life in a way which makes sense to everyday life.
I believe strongly that each of us has a unique purpose and responsibility in this world, and I take great joy in helping students discover what that is in their own lives. I have a passion for incorporating music and the arts into my social studies classroom. I am eager to show social studies students the many aspects of history beyond those that we traditionally study. Having held a longstanding career in government, I am also passionate about public policy. I want to teach students that their rights as citizens not only make a better world possible, but that their involvement is critical and desperately needed in our increasingly global society.

Aside from my passions for learning, my greatest joy in life is my family. My son attends college in Michigan, majoring in Computer Science, Japanese and as much music as he can incorporate into his study load! My daughter is an artist and musician who also is involved in Ministry in Pennsylvania.

Things I enjoy: Walks, journaling, gardening, cross country skiing, Music- especially Jazz and Orchestra, my cat, time with my family and friends,young adult ministry, community theatre involvement, good books and discussion about just about anything!

Favorite Books- anything by Jan Karon. Others too numerous to mention.
I love children’s books and reading to students of all ages. Students can expect me to tell them if they think they have nothing else to do, then they need to have a book with them to read at all times! (and if they need help in that area, I’m glad to help!)

Favorite Quote- Students will get new ones every week! (Always Value laden!) Bring your own favorites to class and we will learn from each other!