Jeff Pluta '08, '09 MEd is the founder and executive director of Amped for Education, an international nonprofit that creates learning opportunities for students in developing countries. Pluta and his team have founded a high school along with educational centers in rural Nicaragua that currently serve over 250 students daily. In 2016, the inaugural class will graduate from the high school in a community where the majority of adults have not completed the sixth grade.

Amped for Education is partly funded through a social enterprise model that involves hosting high school and college students on service learning trips. More than 100 students from the United States have traveled to Nicaragua with the organization to learn about and explore the country, while having meaningful interactions with their global classmates abroad.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in history at UMass Amherst, Pluta continued his studies and earned a master of education from the university. His ties with the university run deep as UMass students and graduates have volunteered for Amped for Education and three alumni sit on the organization’s Board of Directors to help guide its growth.

Pluta has also taught high school students in the Pioneer Valley for more than seven years. He has worked on school accreditations and is experienced in administering educationally diagnostic testing to determine if students qualify for state services. Over his career, he has taught in private, public, remedial, accelerated, residential and international settings.

In addition, Pluta is the head baseball coach at Smith Academy in Hatfield, MA, where he currently teaches history. A number of his players have received scholarships to play in college while others have gone on to sign professional contracts. Pluta coached Smith Academy to its first State Finals and has recorded two of the program’s three, twenty-win seasons.

Developing a better understanding of the different models used to educate students in the United States has become a professional focus for Pluta. With this broadened understanding, along with lessons learned from his Amped for Education experiences, he continues to develop strategies that can be implemented to better reach all learners.