Lily Howard Scott

Lily Howard Scott is a New York City–based educator, social and emotional learning (SEL) coach, and literacy consultant with an MSEd who teaches in the Continuing Professional Studies Department at Bank Street College of Education. She has nearly a decade of experience teaching elementary school in public and independent schools and now provides professional development to teachers and school leaders across the United States, helping them cultivate connected classroom communities and support children’s inner lives, relationships, and perspectives.

Scott is the author of The Words That Shape Us: The Science-Based Power of Teacher Language (Scholastic, 2025), an educator-focused book that draws on neuroscientific research and classroom-tested strategies to show how teacher language can shape students’ thinking, emotions, and learning. Her work has been recognized by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center as a top book for educators, and her writing on child-centered, holistic education has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, Edutopia, and Audubon Magazine.