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Research & Impact

BELLA Learning is grounded in rigorous research and has demonstrated meaningful impact on both teaching and student outcomes.

Strengthen instructional practice

Teachers increase their use of high-impact, evidence-based literacy strategies in their daily instruction

Improve cross-setting collaboration

Teachers and specialists work more effectively together, leading to stronger alignment and more coherent instruction

Grow student literacy

Multilingual learners taught by BELLA-trained teachers show significantly greater standardized assessment gains than peers.

Why It Matters

In many schools, students receive instruction across multiple settings—but those experiences are not always connected.

BELLA helps change that.

BELLA was developed through years of federally funded research and has been tested in real school settings with teachers and students.

The results are clear: When teachers are supported to use evidence-based strategies consistently and collaboratively, student learning improves.

Turning literacy priorities into classroom practice.

BELLA Learning is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advancing teaching and learning through evidence-based professional learning for educators.

BELLA Learning

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Carrie Ruddy

Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at Trane Technologies, with deep expertise in brand strategy, communications, and stakeholder engagement.

Virginia R. Amendum

Nonprofit executive and early childhood leader with extensive experience scaling organizations, securing funding, and building high-quality programs for children and families.

Susan Greene

Entrepreneur, strategist, and Professor of the Practice at UNC Chapel Hill with expertise in innovation, leadership, and organizational strategy across sectors.

Beth Hoos

Education and wellness advocate focused on supporting multilingual learners and strengthening community partnerships to serve children and families.
 

James T. Amendum

Former Assistant Superintendent and longtime educational leader with experience spanning classroom teaching, school leadership, and district administration.

Dr. Steve Amendum

Dr. Amendum is a Professor at the University of Delaware and a nationally recognized scholar in early literacy and multilingual learner instruction. He has led large-scale randomized controlled trials evaluating BELLA and brings deep expertise in evidence-based practices and instructional improvement.

Dr. Leslie Babinski

Dr. Babinski is a Research Professor at Duke University and a leading expert in K–2 literacy instruction and teacher professional learning. She has led multiple federally funded research studies and played a central role in the development of the BELLA model. Her work focuses on bridging research and practice to strengthen instruction and improve outcomes for diverse learners.