Chatfield welcomes three new teachers

Dan Narveson

Dan Narveson is a hometown boy, having graduated from Chatfield High School.  He continued his education at St. Mary’s college in Winona and received a Life cience degree. He is now teaching seventh grade life science and eighth grade physical science in Chatfield.  He is also the ninth grade volleyball coach and middle school Student Council advisor. He didn’t start out seeking a teaching degree, but after taking science classes at St. Mary’s and enjoying them he decided to take his love of science into the classroom. Another reason he chose teaching is that his mom was a teacher and he had many great teacher role models in his high school science classes. In adjusting to the hybrid model because of COVID, Dan plans labs for his students’ “in school” days and they work on material for those labs when they are not in the classroom.

Last year he taught at a middle school in Rochester and finds that in a smaller setting, like Chatfield, he feels more like a team member since he can work and plan with teachers in all the subject areas. There is more consistency.  He enjoys the enthusiasm of his middle school students even though channeling them in a classroom can be a challenge at times. In his spare time Dan enjoys fishing, hiking, watching sports and bonfires.

Logan Clark

Logan is a graduate of Dover-Eyota High School and has a degree in Communication Arts/Literature from Winona State University. Logan went into teaching because he wanted his students to have a more enjoyable time than he did in school.  As a teacher he felt he could do that. In Chatfield he is teaching seventh and eighth grade English.

When he graduated from college there were not many teaching jobs available and since he wanted to stay in the area, he has worked as a paraprofessional in a special education classroom and has done long-term subbing in the area and short-term subbing in the Dover-Eyota district. He has had some on-line distance learning experience when he was long-term subbing last spring. He feels the hardest part about distance learning and the hybrid model is that it is harder to make connections with the students since you do not see them or see them only briefly each week. It’s harder to reach those students who may be struggling. During his spare time in the summer, Logan grows vegetables on a three-acre plot and sells them at the Eyota Farmers Market. He also enjoys hiking, traveling and camping.

Stephanie Fingerson

Stephanie Fingerson is the new fifth grade teacher at Chatfield Elementary.  Last year she taught in the Rochester Public Schools.  She teaches language arts and science to all three fifth grade sections and Action 100 (reading program) and social studies to her homeroom students.  She has always worked with children in her many volunteering activities through her church and many of her family members are teachers, so teaching was a natural course for her to take.  After graduating from Dover-Eyota High School she attended RCTC for two years and graduated from Winona State University with a degree in Elementary Education.  She then furthered her education with a Master’s in Elementary Education from WSU.

This year she is looking forward to broadening her knowledge of teaching in a hybrid or distance learning setting.  Learning about all the technology and applications that are out there to help her students is her main goal.

During her spare time, Stephanie volunteers at her church by teaching Sunday school, Vacation Bible School and church-sponsored community events. She also spends time visiting all her family members in the area.