Director, Ramp-Up to Readiness
Jennifer Kunze is the Ramp-Up to Readiness Director within the College Readiness Consortium. As the director she writes the Ramp-Up curriculum, which is focused on academic, admissions, career, financial, and social emotional readiness for students in grades 6 - 12. She also curates social media content, leads program communication, trains and supports educators using Ramp-Up across the country, keeps current on college-going and labor trends, and learns constantly. She also facilitates the Pre-College Network across the five University of Minnesota campuses. The Network plans and provides engaging and thoughtful learning opportunities for students in preschool to high school that help prepare them for postsecondary.
She attended St. Olaf College and received B.A. degrees in History and Social Studies Education. Jennifer thoroughly enjoyed teaching high school social studies for several years. After earning an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Minnesota with a focus on instruction that improves the intellectual quality of students' thinking, she worked as an Instructional Mentor. In this position, she observed, coached, and provided feedback for over 500 teachers in middle and high schools.
Jennifer returned to the University of Minnesota to earn a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration that married her research interests: effective pedagogy and high quality professional learning for teachers. She then worked as a Teaching and Learning Coordinator for a school district before returning to the University of Minnesota. She strives to make sure all students have an equitable opportunity to achieve social and economic mobility through higher education--whether it be at a two or four-year college, a trade school, or an apprenticeship.