Staff Spotlight: Grace Marsh Watches Growth Happen in Real Time

This post is part of the Lynden Schools Staff Spotlight series

Grace Marsh can see student progress occur at any moment. As part of her multilingual middle school classes, when a student’s skills improve, so does their confidence. And that makes watching student progress even more enthralling. 

The Role

Marsh joined Lynden Middle School full time in the fall of 2024 and she’s now in her third year teaching eighth grade language arts and social students along with English language development, which serves multilingual students in sixth through eighth grade. 

During language arts, she’s helping students strengthen their reading, writing and discussion skills while encouraging them to think critically and share different perspectives. In social studies, as Marsh helps students explore United States history, she wants them to see different viewpoints and make connections between the past and the world around them When supporting multilingual students, the focus rests on building listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in English while making learning accessible and providing opportunities for student growth. 

“One of my favorite parts of teaching is seeing how much my students grow throughout the year,” she says, adding it’s especially meaningful in her English language development class. “Progress can appear in moments as simple as a student volunteering an answer, joining a conversation or expressing their ideas more independently. As their skills grow, so does their confidence, and I love watching students become surer of themselves and their abilities.” 

Getting to Know Grace

It’s been a busy year for Marsh. Over the summer, she got married and bought a house, mixing her free time with friends and family while also working on home renovations. “It has been an exciting season of new beginnings, with plenty of projects to keep us busy,” she says. 

“I enjoy staying connected to the Lynden community by attending sporting events, school concerts and local parades,” Marsh says. “These events give me opportunities to support students beyond the classroom and see the interests and talents they bring to our community. I appreciate being part of a place where people show up for one another, and it’s always fun to see familiar faces and celebrate what our students are doing.”