Detailed Credentials

Dr. L. Carol Scott has been an observer, student and teacher of human development and early education for almost 30 years. She earned her MA in human development in 1979 and her PhD in developmental and child psychology in 1995. Both degrees were awarded by the Department of Human Development and Family Life at the University of Kansas, where Dr. Scott learned from and was mentored by internationally-respected leaders in the study of human behavior, child development, early education, and psychology. She has worked directly with hundreds of children and adults from the varied perspectives of teacher, teacher educator, administrator, presenter, and consultant. Her career has been infused with learning and experience in team building and leadership development, including training at the internationally known Center for Creative Leadership and the respected Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Dr. Scott is a prolific writer and has published over a dozen articles for parents, teachers and other professionals on topics ranging from children’s learning styles to the prevention of sexual abuse. Her scholarly work has appeared in Education and Treatment of Children, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly and Young Children, the journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and she has published popular articles in Kansas City Parent Magazine, Kansas Child and WholeChild Developments. From March 2005 through May 2006, she worked for the Washington, DC-based organization, Pre-K Now, as researcher and writer of their nationally-disseminated reports. She is currently seeking representation for her book, 7 Childhood TreasuresTM to Enrich Your Life Now.

Dr. Scott’s experience in the field of early education includes 15 years in teacher education and management of model early education programs, beginning in 1977. In demonstration classrooms at the University of Kansas Lawrence campus, the University of Maine in Orono, the University of Kansas Regents Center campus in Overland Park, and the Independence Missouri Public Schools, Dr. Scott worked with hundreds of children and families, supervised training practicum experiences for dozens of undergraduate and graduate student teachers, and provided inservice professional development and mentoring for K-3 teachers. In addition, she has served as adjunct faculty in several universities and community colleges, teaching students at the Associate, Bachelor, and Graduate levels.

In 1985 Dr. Scott established a consulting firm, LC Associates. Through her own firm, the Project Construct National Center, and Rebus (the developers of the nationally-respected Work Sampling System®), Dr. Scott has provided hundreds of workshops, seminars, conference keynote addresses, and institutes for teachers, parents, program administrators, parent educators. Quickly expanding her services beyond teacher education, she has written everything from program curricula to policy papers, and provided technical assistance to state agencies in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Idaho, Georgia, and Iowa.

Other clients have included the Families and Work Institute; United Way of America and several local United Ways in Iowa, Oklahoma, Georgia, Kansas, and South Carolina; Hallmark, Inc.; the Finance Project in Washington, DC; the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; and state-level non-profit agencies.

From 1989 to 1991, Dr. Scott served as Executive Director for the Child Care Association of Johnson County, a non-profit child care resource and referral agency in Overland Park, Kansas. From late 1991 through 1995, Dr. Scott managed over $3 million in federal funds in a Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Transition demonstration project for the Independence Missouri Public Schools. A substantial school reform initiative, the project involved implementation of developmentally appropriate practices in kindergarten through third grade and provision of social services, health, and mental health supports for families in a home-visit model. The initiative developed effective strategies for smoothing the transition for low-income families, as their children moved from Head Start to the primary grades.

Dr. Scott was the Director of the Metropolitan Council on Early Learning (MCEL) in Kansas City from late 1995 through mid-1999. In a metropolitan area that includes eight counties and 114 municipal governments, the MCEL serves as a catalyst for creation of an effective system of high quality early education. Using data collection and dissemination, collaborative strategies, and broad constituent input, the MCEL is a national model for system change and community mobilization on behalf of young children.

Throughout her career, Dr. Scott has also given of her time in service to the early education profession. This service includes more than 70 publications and presentations at local, state, regional and national professional conferences, and more than 50 volunteer positions as committee or advisory group member, facilitator, or chair; professional organization board officer; site visit team member; or community service organizer. She recently completed her service as past-president of the Association for the Education of Young Children of Missouri (AEYC-MO).