Intentional Leadership in Early Care and Education
dedicated to developing intentional leaders
The vast majority of directors of early care and education programs are promoted from teaching positions and begin their careers with a passion for children. Once in the director role, few have the necessary preparation for the administrative tasks they are faced with, and they often have limited knowledge and experience in leadership practices. In addition, their new responsibilities take them away from the children they were so passionate to work with. Developing the knowledge they need can be a daunting task, and even as they continue on their career path, there are more areas to improve upon. All administrators can benefit from learning additional skills, acquiring advanced knowledge, and discovering new ways of approaching their work.
Bella Mattina is dedicated to cultivating and growing the whole leadership skills of administrators in early care and education through intentional leadership. Our services focus on the area of greatest impact for high quality programming: the leadership. Our professional development experiences, resources, and consultation are designed for administrators of early care and education programs and those who coach them. By focusing on leadership, Bella Mattina is helping to strengthen the systems that have the greatest impact on quality.
professional development and consultation
for administrators
Professional development for administrators of early care and education programs
Are you looking for an inspiring, uplifting, and informative professional development experience for a group of directors? Whether they are new to their role or an experienced director, these trainings provide directors with ideas that will help them grow and strengthen their leadership skills.
for coaches and trainers
Professional development for coaches and trainers of administrators of early care and education programs
Do you coordinate a coaching project and need training designed to provide coaches with the skills and knowledge they need to work with directors of early care and education programs? Whether they are providing one-on-one coaching, group coaching, or trainings to directors, these professional development options provide coaches with tools they can use immediately to improve the coaching experience for themselves and their coachees.
for organizations
Consultation
Are you interested in analyzing assessment results and developing next steps for your organization? Do you need ideas for how to embed formal and informal assessment in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)? Are you designing a leadership academy or looking for new ways to enrich a current academy? Bella Mattina provides a variety of consultation options focused on quality leadership practices.
why choose bella mattina?
Jill has been instrumental in the oversight of several leadership academies, research projects, and the development of a variety of resources for administrators in early care and education. As co-author of several of the Director’s Toolbox Management series books, the Program Administration Scale, 3rd edition, Building on Whole Leadership, the Administrator Role Perception Survey, and a trainer for over 25 years, Jill is a leading authority on these topics.
experience
25+ years
500+ trainings conducted
800+ training days
100+ trainings developed
reach
18,000+ participants
34 states
the story of bella mattina
Dr. Jill M. Bella, founder of Bella Mattina, provides training and consultation to local and state initiatives focused on leadership topics in early care and education.
Early on Jill learned the value of appreciating every day from the start, so “bella mattina” which translates to “beautiful morning” in Italian and includes her namesake, seemed like a natural choice for her company name. She also understands the value of setting intentions each day. It is Jill’s mission to support leaders in early care and education settings so they are equipped with the tools to lead and to practice intentional leadership in early care and education.
Would you like to start each day with an intentional leadership practice? Find out how in my blog post.
Expertise
Jill is co-author of the Program Administration Scale, 3rd Edition; A Great Place to Work; Building Whole Leadership; Inspiring Peak Performance; Zoom: The Impact of Early Childhood Leadership Training on Role Perceptions, Job Performance, and Career Decisions; and the Administrator Role Perceptions Survey. She is also co-author of several trainer's guides in the Director’s Toolbox Management Series and has written numerous articles and blogs.
See the Resources page for more information about Jill’s books and articles.
Jill M. Bella, Ed.D., Bella Mattina Founder
Prior experience
Before founding Bella Mattina, Jill was Director of Professional Learning and an Assistant Professor at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University (NLU) where she worked for 22 years. In this role, she consulted on leadership initiatives, oversaw several nationally recognized leadership academies, developed several assessment and evaluation tools, designed and delivered trainings, developed module content, and conducted research. Jill has also worked as an early interventionist, training specialist, and early educator. Her interests include organizational climate, the early childhood workforce, systems thinking, and early childhood leadership.
Education
Doctorate degree in Adult and Continuing Education, National Louis University (NLU)
Graduate degree in Special Education-Early Intervention, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Baccalaureate degree in Child Development, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
“I had the pleasure of learning from Jill through a year-long leadership series. Jill’s presence as a speaker was engaging and motivational. Our group included individuals from all over the state who worked in a variety of different settings. Jill was able to hold the attention of our large and diverse group of learners through all-day trainings. Her years of leadership coaching, research, and knowledge of the field allowed Jill to deliver sessions that were full of evidence-based material. Trainings were relatable and included examples from the field. I was able to take strategies back to our school and easily implement them as new skills. Jill’s knowledge, professionalism and humor made learning an engaging and rewarding process.”
– Kadi Juris, Director, Heartland Community College Child Development Lab
Intentional leadership in your early care and education career can become a daily practice that you cultivate and grow.