Jennifer Rodriguez-Luke

Jennifer founded the Early Excellence Program of Denver in 2002 as a small pilot project in the basement of the Wyatt-Edison Charter school. Over the next two decades, she guided the program as it became an independent nonprofit, moved into its own space in the Cole neighborhood, and was recognized as one of the top-tier preschools in Colorado.

Early Excellence has now become a fixture in the Cole neighborhood, with families returning to the program year after year and young parents who attended Early Excellence enrolling their own children. The program has grown significantly since its inception and is now known for the quality of its programming and its success at preparing children for elementary school.

In 2015 Early Excellence was the first preschool in Colorado to be awarded a Colorado Shines Level 5 quality rating and has since received numerous community and state level awards for its high achievement.

Even at a young age, Jennifer has always had an inner calling to work with young children and help educate them for their future success. Working at Early Excellence, the past 20 years has been a natural fit for Jennifer and she strongly believes that “if you are doing something you absolutely love, then it is not work.”

Jennifer holds a Level 6 Professional Credential from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, a B.A. in Education from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a Master’s of Arts degree in Education. She also earned an Early Childhood Leadership certificate in 2008 from the University of Denver as part of the Temple Hoyne Buell Early Childhood Leadership program as part of Cohort 1.  She enjoys trail-hiking and paddle boarding with her husband and 4 dogs, spending time with her children and family, especially if its outdoors, and she has a deep love and passion for the fair and humane treatment of all animals and mother earth.