Chesterton Academy of the St Croix Valley is blessed to have a talented and dynamic faculty dedicated to the vision and mission of our school. Each faculty and staff member takes the Oath of Fidelity to the Magisterium at the Mass of the Holy Cross at the beginning of the academic year. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, faculty at Chesterton participate in the House System, which is designed to promote character and virtue.
Fr. Bruno Nwachukwu
SCHOOL CHAPLAIN
Eileen Douglass
Head of School
Mrs. Douglass is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College and holds a Master's Degree in Theology with an emphasis in Bioethics from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, a Certification in Bioethics with Highest Honors from the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, and is currently working on her Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Mrs. Douglass has worked at institutions including St. Agnes School in St. Paul, St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony, and most recently was principal at Transfiguration Catholic School in Oakdale.
Donna Amaral
Educational Specialist
Ms. Amaral holds a BA in Elementary Education and Special Education (K–12) from Morehead State University, KY. She holds a Minnesota license for elementary education and all levels of developmental cognitive disabilities. Originally from Massachusetts, she thanks God for continuing to bless her with a wide and varied career. She’s taught K–12 in schools from San Vito Air Station in Brindisi, Italy, to the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, and she has numbered both the gifted and the disabled among her students. After 42 years, during which she taught mostly high school students with a specific learning disability or a developmental cognitive disability, she retired from public education and joyfully joined the ranks of Catholic school educators when Eileen Douglass hired her as the reading interventionist at Transfiguration School, where she served for the past three years. Ms. Amaral now looks forward to working with Chesterton faculty and parents to help students access our rigorous curriculum or to help challenge them with extension and enrichment opportunities.
Jeffrey Arrowood
Humanities, Academic Dean
Jeff Arrowood holds a master’s degree in theological studies from the Institute for Religious and Pastoral Studies through the University of Dallas and a BA in English and social science with emphasis in psychology and history. Jeff taught moral theology, literature, history, and psychology in a diocesan Catholic high school for ten years in Marshfield, WI. He was the recipient of two teaching awards: the Crystal Apple award and Teacher of the Year award. Jeff was hired by the Diocese of LaCrosse, WI for the Office of Marriage and Family Life as the Natural Family Planning educator. He also taught for the diocesan deacon formation and lay formation programs.
Michael Bass Smith
SPANISH
Michael Bass Smith is originally from Alabama. He graduated from Fairhope High School, and after a year at the University of Mobile, entered the United States Army, where he served as a Police Officer, Recruiter, and Musician in Panama, Korea, and Afghanistan, as well as other places throughout the United States. Upon retiring from the Army, he was a federal Police Officer in D.C. and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He received his first Bachelor of Arts degree in 2016 from American Military University (AMU) in Criminal Justice. He graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, Social Sciences, and History. He earned his Master of Arts in U.S. History from AMU.
While stationed in Panama, he met his wife Anette, whom he has been married to for twenty-eight years. They have three daughters, Sharon, Jennie, and Ashton.
Michael is currently the State Warden for the Minnesota Knights of Columbus and the Ethnic Membership Director and spends much of his spare time in service work throughout the state and enjoys playing guitar.
Samantha Bertrand
Humanities, dean of houses
Miss Bertrand’s family returned home to the Church at the Easter Vigil at St. Mary’s in 2004. After surviving public school K-12, she was very happy to move onto Catholic education at Ave Maria University. There she fell in love with Philosophy, receiving her MA in Philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville. She then entered into a PhD program at Catholic University of America, but after a year was found working for the church as a DRE in Maryland. She moved home to Stillwater and spent four years working in communications for St. Charles Borromeo in NE Minneapolis in addition to helping them start Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, in which she is trained through Level III.
Ann Clark
Office MANAGER
Mrs. Clark is thrilled to be a part of the Chesterton family! She lives with her husband and 5 children in the White Bear/Mahtomedi area. Their home parish is St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi. Ann is involved in music ministry at St. Jude and comes to us after being a full-time stay-at-home mom and a career volunteer for the Catholic school communities her children have attended. She enjoys watching, studying, and participating in theatre here in the Twin Cities. Ann has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. Her deep love and passion for Catholic education brought her to Chesterton and she is looking forward to serving the Chesterton SCV community for years to come!
Joe Dettloff
LATIN ii
Joseph Dettloff teaches Latin II at Chesterton Academy of the St. Croix Valley. He received his undergrad in philosophy and theology from the University of Mary in Bismarck ND. He is a graduate of Saint Agnes High School in St. Paul, MN. Some things he enjoys doing in his free time are reading books (usually books on philosophy or theology), watching the Minnesota Vikings, and spending time with family and friends. He is excited to be a part of the staff here at Chesterton Academy!
Michael Douglass
Math & Science, Dean of Men
Born and raised in Stillwater, Mr. Douglass graduated from St. Croix Catholic School and St. Croix Prep Academy as a National Merit Scholar. He graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA, and is thrilled to use that experience to help form the next generation here at CASCV. He obtained a Mathematics degree from the University of Minnesota, and is currently in a graduate Data Analytics program. Michael is looking forward to helping students get a deeper and more rewarding understanding of mathematics.
Dr. Michael Hurben
MATH & SCIENCE
Dr. Michael Hurben received his B.S. in Physics from the University of Utah and his Ph.D. in Physics from Colorado State University. He has been recognized for outstanding teaching at the college level but has spent most of his career to date in the magnetic recording industry, working as a Principal Engineer at Seagate Technology in Bloomington. His other interests include classical music, literature, Spanish, and everything in the natural world of Creation, especially if it flies. He has identified over 5,000 species of birds worldwide, is the author of The Physics of Birds and Birding (Pelagic Publishing, 2025), and serves on the Board of the Minnesota Dragonfly Society. He and his wife Claire are parishioners at the Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul.
Claire Kennedy
GALA & ENROLLMENT COORDINATOR
Mrs. Claire (Thoemke) Kennedy studied elementary education with a minor in classics at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. After graduating during the pandemic, she returned to her home state of Minnesota to teach 4th grade at St. Peter Catholic School in North St. Paul. Her 3 years of classroom teaching were challenging yet lifegiving, and she got to learn so much more about education as a whole. While classroom teaching will always hold a special place in Mrs. Kennedy’s heart, she is enjoying the new challenges office management brings, and she already feels very grateful for and supported by the CASCV community.
John Niemann
humanities
Mr. Niemann has been an educator for over 25 years, raising six children with his wife Sibyl and working as a teacher and administrator at some of the best traditional schools in the area, including Chesterton Academy, Eagle Ridge Academy and Trinity School. He is currently the director of the Saint John Paul II Education Guild. He has a law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law, a Master of Liberal Studies degree from Saint John’s College, Santa Fe, NM, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative History from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. The Niemanns are parishioners at All Saints Catholic Church in Northeast Minneapolis.
Sibyl Niemann
LATIN I
Sibyl Niemann has a BA in English from the University of Minnesota and has done graduate work at St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM, where she met her husband John. In college she trained as a newspaper copy editor and proofreader, worked for the campus newspaper, and interned on the St. Paul Pioneer Press copy desk. She taught for four years at Trinity School at River Ridge after college until transitioning to home full time to raise and educate their six children. Subsequently, she has taught for various homeschool co-ops and the St. John Paul II Education Guild. For three years she served as executive director for the All Saints Homeschool Association. Sibyl also works as an academic proofreader for Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture and as an editor for The Minnesota Catholic magazine. She and her family attend All Saints parish in Minneapolis.
Anna Wahl
MUSIC
Mrs. Anna Wahl is thrilled to join the Chesterton SCV Faculty, teaching the choirs and music history classes.
She was born and raised in sunny San Diego, CA. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in English from San Diego State University. While in San Diego, she taught choir, drama, English, and a class for striving readers at two different middle schools.
Since moving to Hudson, WI in 2011, she has led the adult choir at St. Patrick’s parish in Hudson, led the Children’s Choir at the churches of St. Michael and St. Mary, while also cantoring and being their lead wedding coordinator.
She is married to her husband, Hank, and is mom to Caecilia, twins Sarah and Eleanor, Thomas, and twins Simon and Zélie.
Amanda Weis
Drama
Ms. Amanda Weis is an experienced performing artist and stage director who divides her time between private vocal instruction and performing and directing throughout the Twin Cities and greater area. Ms. Weis obtained her BA in vocal music at the College of St.Benedict/St. John’s University and her Masters of Music at the University of MN, Duluth. Ms. Weis has performed leading and supporting roles with numerous notable performing arts companies in the region. Ms. Weis was also the vocal director for the national tour Nick Jr Live, a new work from Nickelodeon and VStar Entertainment. Amanda Weis is a member of the NATS – National Association of Teachers of Singing and is a solo & ensemble contest judge for the Minnesota State High School League under the name, Amanda McGivern.
Krista Zikmund
Fine Arts
A graduate from Chesterton Academy herself, Mrs. Zikmund has been honing her artistic skills since she could hold a pencil. She holds a BS and is currently a student at The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts in Minneapolis studying oil paint portraiture. She loves all artistic mediums, but graphite and oil paint have a special place in her heart. Her favorite artists include John Singer Sargent, Caravaggio, and Winslow Homer.