Rachel Donnelly Lella

Rachel Donnelly Lella spent 12 years working with students in pre-K–grade 4, largely in the Red Bank Borough Public Schools in New Jersey, where she had the opportunity to work closely with multilingual learners and their families. Moving into administration, she served in the dual role of elementary curriculum and instruction supervisor and K–12 ESL supervisor in the Wall Township Public Schools. She is currently the director of Curriculum and Instruction for the North Hanover Township School District and is a lecturer for the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education.

Lella holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and American studies from Rider University, a master’s degree in elementary education from Monmouth University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Kean University, a master’s degree in language education from Rutgers University, and a doctorate in teacher leadership from Rutgers University. Based on her doctoral research at Rutgers, she was awarded the Edward Fry Fellowship in Literacy and the Center for Literacy Development Endowed Scholarship. Lella belongs to a number of professional education associations and regularly presents at their local, state, national, and international conferences in the areas of literacy, ESL, and educational leadership. She currently serves as the vice president of the New Jersey Literacy Association and is a member of the Administrator Task Force of the International Literacy Association. She is coauthor of Literacy Changemakers: Bringing the Joy of Reading and Writing into Focus for Teachers and Students.