Kit Avery
Business/Strength & Conditioning Faculty
B.A. Marketing, Ethics, Drake University Business School
ACSI Certified
First year at SWCHS: 2010

Kit Avery is the chair of the Business Department and coaches strength and conditioning at Southwest Christian High School. He grew up in Deephaven, Minnesota, and he and his sister, Annika, are proud alumni of SWCHS. Kit is a cancer survivor and Eagle Scout. He owned and operated a family business in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area prior to teaching at SWCHS. He was one of Southwest Christian’s top athletes and played Division I basketball at Drake University where he had the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament.

Kit married his wife, Anna, in 2014, and the couple has two sons, Elias and Ezra whom both attend Chapel Hill Academy. Kit and Anna are both active in Bible Study Fellowship where he has the privilege to teach in the children’s program. A couple of traditions the Avery family enjoys include Taco Tuesday, sunset waterskiing and adventure hikes. Mr. Avery enjoys being physically active, waterskiing, spending time in wooden boats with his wife and sons, working on home renovation projects with his father, and spending time on the lake at their family cabin. The Averys live in Excelsior and attend Excelsior Covenant Church.

Dan Beckering
Head of School
B.A. Secondary Education, Dordt College
M.A. Educational Leadership, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota
First year at SWCHS: 2001

Dan Beckering grew up on a farm in Southwestern Minnesota. He earned his degree in secondary education in history and physical education at Dordt College in Iowa and his masters degree in educational leadership at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Mr. Beckering has taught history and Bible classes at SWCHS, served as the varsity boys basketball coach, and the dean of student before starting his role as the head of school in 2009. He and his wife, Laura, have been married since 2000. They have four future graduates of SWCHS, Caleb (’22), Bennet (’22), Kylie (’24), and Avery (’27).

In his free time, Mr. Beckering loves hunting, fishing, sports, taking family road trips, and spending time with friends and family. He is passionate about raising up the next generation of Christian disciples and leaders.

Dr. Thor Benson
Science Faculty
Ph.D. Science Education, University of Minnesota
M.A. Educational Leadership, Bethel University
B.S. Kinesiology, Wheaton College
ACSI Certified, State Teaching License
First year at SWCHS: 2015

Dr. Thor Benson teaches biology and physics at Southwest Christian and facilitates the Leadership Academy for students who feel called to serve and lead the SWCHS community. During the 2019–2020 school year, Dr. Benson will also an instructional coach helping teachers along their Teaching for Transformation journey. He has also been the head coach for the boys lacrosse program since its inaugural season in 2015 as well as an assistant coach for the girls tennis program. Prior to coming to Southwest Christian, Dr. Benson taught middle school science and physical education and was the athletic director and assistant to the head of school at Chapel Hill Academy for five years. Dr. Benson then transitioned from Chapel Hill to Crown College where he served as a professor of education and science and the director of the honors program for 10 years. Throughout his teaching experience, Dr. Benson has taught every grade from kindergarten to graduate students and has had the privilege of teaching a few students through their elementary, high school, and college careers.

Dr. Benson and his wife, Kettie, live in Chanhassen and have three children; Molly, Lily, and Soren. The Benson family worships at Westwood Community Church. When not teaching or coaching, Dr. Benson can be found cycling, paddle boarding, windsurfing, playing tennis, enjoying a good cup of coffee, and spending time with family.

Matt Berka
English Faculty
B.A. Communication Arts & Literature Education 5-12: Bethel University
M.A. English, Ohio University
ACSI Certified, State Teaching License
First year at SWCHS: 2016

Matt Berka is originally from Wisconsin, but he moved to Minnesota to attend Bethel University in 2012. He graduated with a degree in English education and joined the faculty at SWCHS in 2016. Currently, Mr. Berka teaches sophomore English, advises the yearbook, and coaches basketball. Mr. Berka and his wife, Rachel, have two children and are members at Westwood Community Church. Outside of school responsibilities, Mr. Berka enjoys golfing, reading, being outside, and spending time with friends and family.

Ann Broscoff
Director of Student Services
M.A. Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities, Bethel University
B.S. Secondary Science Education/Chemistry, University of Minnesota
ACSI Certified, State Teaching License
First year at SWCHS: 1996

Mrs. Broscoff has served the SWCHS community since its inaugural year in 1996. Prior to that, she taught at Bethany Academy, as well as Burnsville and Richfield public school for a total of seven years. As the director of student services, her main responsibility is to help students be as successful as possible during their time at SWCHS. She oversees the counseling department, as well as the learning specialists. These roles enable her to be more involved with students that have a more transient need for additional support–– to get through more temporary trying times (students experiencing significant family needs such as a death in the family, students with concussions or mono, etc.). She also works with the admissions department to ensure that SWCHS admits students that are a fit for what SWCHS can offer them.

Mrs. Broscoff has been married to her husband, Keith, since 1979, and they have three, grown children (all of which are SWCHS alumni) along with eight grandchildren. She and her husband live out in the country near New Auburn, MN on five acres with their dog and horse. The Broscoffs enjoy participating in horse shows, fishing, camping, and spending time with the family whenever possible. They attend Hutchinson Evangelical Free Church and both serve on the worship teams.

Dr. Donald Carlson
Bible Faculty
Ph.D. Judaic, Hebraic, and Cognate Studies, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion
M.Phil. Hebraic and Cognate Studies, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion
B.A. Biblical Studies, University of Northwestern-St. Paul
ACSI Certified
First year at SWCHS: 2015

Dr. Donald Carlson and his wife, Justine, live in Chaska with their four daughters. They are members at Church of the Cross in Hopkins. Outside of his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Carlson also really enjoys hiking the trails around Chaska throughout the year, reading good books, writing, working on various projects, and spending quality time with his wife and kids.

DeJong, Matt
Math Faculty
M.A. School Leadership, Dordt College
B.A. Secondary Education, Math, Dordt College
First year at SWCHS: 2019

Matt DeJong has been a high school math teacher since 2014 at Westminster Christian Academy near St. Louis, MO. While at Westminster, Mr. DeJong served as a coach for several seasons, as a chaperone for summer trips, as a department chair for the math department, and as the faculty leader for the school’s chapel band. Mr. DeJong, his wife, Mia, and their Miniature Australian Shepherd (Rosie) moved to Southwest Minneapolis in the summer of 2019 and are enjoying the discovery of great restaurants and lakes in their neighborhood.

DeVries, Kimberly
Instrumental Director
M.A Choral Conducting, SUNY Stony Brook
B.A Music, Luther College
First year at SWCHS: 2019

Kimberly DeVries and her husband, Brian, have been married 28 years and recently moved back to Chaska from Virginia, where she taught music, choir, orchestra, and worship at Fresta Valley Christian School. Prior to her move to Virginia, Mrs. DeVries was the music and choir teacher at Calvin Christian School (now Avail Academy) in Edina. She has over 20 years of experience teaching preschool through college, conducting orchestras, bands, choirs, vocal ensembles, opera, musicals and leading worship.

Mrs. DeVries is not new to the SWCHS community, as both her daughters, Elyse (23) and Anna (21), attended SWCHS before moving to Virginia.  Besides her love of music and ability to play multiple instruments, you may also see her pick up a volleyball and/or basketball from time to time, which are two other favorite things she enjoys doing!