Jennifer McCarty Plucker

Jennifer McCarty Plucker

Jennifer McCarty Plucker, EdD, is the director of learning and development and a literacy consultant at Mackin Educational Resources in Burnsville, Minnesota. She has spent more than twenty years in public education as an English teacher, reading specialist, speech coach, teaching and learning specialist, and district administrator. Her doctoral research focused on student engagement and motivation in literacy.

Her current work with educators is grounded in an inquiry approach that puts students in the driver’s seat of their learning. She supports educators in implementing inquiry in the classroom, redesigning the English language arts (ELA) curriculum to support student ownership, implementing practices to motivate and engage readers, developing secondary literacy intervention programs, and supporting school communities in developing a culture of literacy. Dr. McCarty Plucker has served as an adjunct instructor for Hamline University in Saint Paul; Augsburg College in Minneapolis; and Saint Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. Dr. McCarty Plucker also currently serves on the Eastview Community Foundation Board and supports young people as a leadership development manager for Chick-fil-A Apple Valley. Dr. Plucker holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary English and speech and theater education from Minnesota State University, Moorhead; a master’s degree in educational leadership from Saint Mary’s University; a K–12 reading license from Hamline University; and a K–12 administrative license from Saint Thomas University. She received her doctorate in educational leadership with a focus on adolescent literacy from Argosy University, Twin Cities.