Teacher of the Year – Jennifer Denten, Catholic Memorial High School, Waukesha

On paper, Jennifer Denten is a Spanish teacher — a good one.

Since 2019, she’s been the chair of the World Language Department at Catholic Memorial High School, where she ensures that the rigor of her school’s International Baccalaureate program will motivate each student to reach his or her highest potential. She has been recognized with several awards over the years, runs a wide variety of initiatives and programs on campus, and is regarded as “a master teacher,” said Bonnie Scholz, Principal of Catholic Memorial High School, Waukesha.

But in reality, Spanish is only the beginning. If her students leave her classroom knowing only the nuts and bolts of Spanish grammar, Denten is going to be disappointed — because she wants to teach them more than that.

“I am passionate about helping them to learn Spanish and to become really successful speakers of the Spanish language,” said Denten. But ultimately, “If they can look back on their time in my classroom and remember it as a time when they knew that they were loved, that I value them as a human being, as a unique individual, and that God loved them and God has a plan for them — that’s so much more important to me than if they remember how to conjugate in the imperfect subjunctive.”

Denton is one of six teachers who will be honored with the 2026 Catholic Herald Teacher of the Year Award at the Archbishop’s Catholic Schools Dinner on March 4.

In her youth, Denten actually dreamed of being a pediatric doctor. She had a passion for the Spanish language and saw it as a tool to help her assist future patients. But in high school, she began to teach religious education and realized that her vocation was in the classroom. “I realized that teaching was where I was meant to be,” she said.

Denten earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish education and a master’s degree in educational leadership, both from Marquette University, Milwaukee, and her 25 years of teaching experience includes time at Milwaukee’s Nativity Jesuit Middle School and Messmer Catholic Schools in addition to CMH, where she is also a parent of current students.

Denten’s colleagues are a wealth of information about the projects and initiatives to which she has contributed at CMH: spearheading annual school-wide Lenten service projects, coordinating a partnership between CMH and Bakhita House in Milwaukee, co-moderating the Spanish National Honor Society and organizing a program that pairs CMH students as tutors to Spanish-speaking grade schoolers at nearby Corpus Christi School — these are only a few of the areas in which she takes a prominent role.

But her colleagues are quick to add that Denten’s greatest strengths are found in the care she takes helping her students develop as people. She has implemented a practice of “Monday morning check-ins,” where she “she takes time to understand how students are doing both personally and academically, allowing her to adjust instruction thoughtfully and responsively,” said Stephanie Diedrich, Spanish teacher at CMH and Denten’s co-moderator of the Spanish National Honor Society.

Jennifer Denten has been involved in many campus ministry initiatives at Catholic Memorial High School, Waukesha, in her 21 years as a Spanish teacher there, including the annual Crusader Day of Service. (Submitted photo)

“It means the world to me, that they know that they can come in here and every Monday morning I’m going to check in with them as a human being, see how they’re doing and ask what I can pray for them,” Denten said.

She is also keen to help students understand the social and moral issues faced by Spanish speakers throughout the globe, creating innovative projects and assignments in the classroom that help them to “connect language learning with Catholic Social Teaching,” said Diedrich.

“What sets Jennifer apart is not only her professional excellence but the authenticity of her discipleship,” said Donna Bembenek, President of Catholic Memorial

High School. “Jennifer has a unique way of focusing on welcoming others — with a great sense of belonging — versus making people feel obligated to participate in their faith.”

The love and admiration shown to Denten by the CMH community is reciprocated. Earlier this year, Denten’s father experienced health issues that necessitated her absence from the classroom for a short time. Her colleagues rallied to cover for her, said Denten, and her students and their families sustained her with an outpouring of care and support.

“It’s a privilege to teach in a Catholic school, and it’s a privilege to have families who say, ‘You’re exactly where you need to be’ when I’ve been out of the classroom for five days of a new semester,” she said. “To get up every morning and know that this is the place that I’m coming to and this is the community that’s here — that’s a gift. And I can’t imagine doing anything else as my work, because it’s such a gift.”

Get to know Mrs. Denton:

  • Home parish: Corpus Christi, Waukesha
  • I live in: Lisbon
  • I knew I’d become a teacher when: I realized that I had a passion for teaching when I was in high school and volunteered to help teach an elementary religious education class through my parish. It was powerful when I realized that I could pursue Spanish as a major, to share my love of the language with my students, and, at the same time, share my faith by teaching in a Catholic school.
  • I love teaching in a Catholic school because: Heaven is real, and so is hell. Because I teach in a Catholic school, I can include our Catholic faith in my lessons and help my students on their path toward the ultimate goal of heaven.
  • Favorite scripture verse: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) This hasn’t always been my favorite verse, but it speaks to me in a special way these days. It reminds me that Jesus was fully human; that even though he knew how the story ended, he still felt deep sorrow. This helps me to remember that no matter what I encounter in life, Jesus is with me.
  • Favorite book: “Love Letters to My Husband” (from St. Gianna Beretta Molla to her husband). This book was so inspirational to me as a young engaged woman, and the love between Gianna and Pietro Molla continues to inspire me throughout my marriage as a working mother.
  • Favorite saint: Gianna Beretta Molla. She was a working mom and wife. She inspires me to pray, to serve my family and to strive for balance through keeping things in the right order: God, family, work.
  • When it comes to our faith, I want children to know: God loves you immensely. He created you on purpose, with a purpose that only you can accomplish in exactly the right moment in time. He will love you always and never tires of forgiving you when you run to him.
  • My family: Husband, Andrew, and four children.
  • I love Catholic school for my own children because: They are surrounded by truth, beauty and goodness. Having access to the sacraments and to support from our loving pastors during the school day reminds them that God is always with them and nurtures the seeds of faith that Drew and I strive to plant and nurture in our family home as their first teachers.