Toni Bennett

Bennett has a 56-year career in education.  At NSU, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education in 1966, Master of Education in Special Education in 1970 and Specialist in Education in Leadership, Curriculum and Assessment in 1984 with additional study at Northeast Louisiana University and Louisiana State University.  She began her career as a special education teacher at several schools in Natchitoches Parish before become pupil appraisal coordinator for Natchitoches Parish.  She also served on faculty at NSU, Louisiana Tech and Northeast Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

As the first certified assessment teacher/education diagnostician in Louisiana, Bennett worked for the Louisiana Department of Education to create and implement pupil appraisal, special education and school improvement programs. Throughout her career, she authored and administered grants, assisted in writing handbooks and reference guides for learning standards and was a consultant for curriculum development in Louisiana and several other states.  She presented at numerous state and national conferences, served as director of the Department of Exceptional Student Services and was Louisiana’s State Assessment Teacher of the Year, Outstanding Special Education Teacher of the Year.

Although she is retired twice over, Bennett is still serving the educational world by volunteering her time and services to the Early Childhood realm as well as presenting at local conferences disseminating her knowledge of inclusion, diversity and more.