Sean Curtis oversees 3,923 students and a vast network of 400 staff, including seven Deputy Principals, 25 Heads of Departments, and over 250 teachers. As Associate Principal of Marsden State High School – the southern hemisphere’s biggest secondary school – his leadership is focused on unifying vision and practices to enhance educational outcomes.

Sean played a pivotal role in creating the Marsden Art of Learning (MAOL) Pedagogy Toolkit and the Mako Lesson framework. This innovative approach, grounded in educational neuroscience, incorporates strategies from various methodologies tailored to Marsden’s diverse student body. Key features include engaging students from the start, connecting new concepts with prior knowledge, and setting clear learning objectives.

Under Sean’s leadership, Marsden has launched several groundbreaking programs. The Academic Centre of Excellence – backed by an $18 million investment – offers modern learning spaces, a new curriculum, and a Tech Academy focused on robotics, virtual reality, eSports, and drone racing. These programs were designed to align with Queensland’s STEM strategy and have engaged over 1,400 students.

Sean led the Marsden Makos Mentor (MMM) Program to ensure each student is known, tracked, and supported, focusing on skill development and career readiness. He also worked with colleagues to introduce the "@marsden.i" coaching model, assigning each student an Academic Coach to support their continuous improvement.

His leadership has yielded significant academic results, and his efforts have also led to high staff satisfaction and retention, with over 95 per cent of staff agreeing on the quality of professional development opportunities.

Sean’s impact extends beyond Marsden. As Executive Chair of the Queensland School Premier League, he increased student participation and secured $90,000 in support, forging valuable partnerships, and creating opportunities for student development.