Dr. Marsha Denton has had a distinguished career in the education community, in positions that have included public school teacher, district administrator, adjunct university professor and national educational consultant. 

She can now add high school principal to her list of accomplishments. Denton was approved to lead Thomas Jefferson High School next year at the May 18, 2010, work study by the Federal Way Public Schools Board of Directors.

Dr. Denton is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, who moved to the Seattle area in 2001. Her doctorate work is in curriculum and instruction, and her consulting work focused on helping teachers to use data to improve their instructional practices with students.  This summer she will again be teaching a Differentiated Instruction course at Seattle Pacific University.  

Differentiated Instruction – the ability to use different teaching methods to meet the individual learning styles of students – is a key piece of Federal Way schools’ approach to teaching.

Since 2006, Denton has served as assistant principal to Liberty High School in Issaquah, Washington. Prior to that, she was the Director of Assessment and Research in the Issaquah School District. Since 2008, she has also worked in the Seattle Pacific University College of Education. She notes that she was a classroom teacher for 15 years and an adjunct university professor for 13 years.

Dr. Denton has served on the Leadership Council for International ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) and she has also worked with the National Council for the Accreditation of Teachers of Education (NCATE) which provides accreditation to colleges of education across the country. 

She is very passionate about her ‘kids’ and has focused on working with students and families from diverse backgrounds and providing supports to scaffold students to success.