NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development will honor inductees into the Hall of Distinguished Educators, Outstanding Young Professionals and the Friend of Education during Homecoming weekend Oct. 23-24.
Friends are invited to attend a reception at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 in the Commons area of the Teacher Education Center, followed by the induction program at 11 a.m. in the NSU Middle Lab School auditorium. Honorees will later be recognized during the Homecoming football game, which kicks off at 2 p.m. in Turpin Stadium.
This year’s inductees into the Hall of Distinguished Educators are Mark Minton of Bossier City, Tommy Alan Moore of Henderson, Texas, and LeAnn Gray Skinner of Stonewall. The Hall of Distinguished Educators is the highest honor bestowed by the School of Education. Nominees must have earned an education degree from NSU, must have a minimum of 30 years of service in the field of education and must have made significant contributions to the field of education and/or the larger community at a local, state, national or international level.
This year’s Outstanding Young Professionals in Education are Jessica Fain Blanchard of Denham Springs, Aaliyah Rachal Seawood of Natchitoches and Dr. Joshua V. Sims of Shreveport. Outstanding Young Professionals in Education must have earned an education degree from NSU and have a minimum of 10 years of service in the field of education. Nominees must have made significant contributions to the field of education and/or the larger community. Nominees must be 45 years old or younger.
This year’s Friend to Education Award honoree is Donna “DeeDee” Foster Perot of Natchitoches. The Friend to Education award recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of education, the NSU School of Education, the Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development and/or the university as a whole.
Minton, who earned a Bachelor of Music Education in 1995 and a Master of Music in 2020, has been director of bands at Parkway High School since 1997 where he directs the wind ensemble, symphonic band, jazz ensemble and marching band. During his career, he and his students have consistently earned countless titles, accolades and awards at the state, district and national level and have performed at numerous special events in the Shreveport-Bossier area and in other part of the United States. Minton has been a mentor to two generations of students at Parkway and has been recognized for his impact on their development as musicians and individuals. He has adjudicated at band, jazz and solo and ensemble festivals throughout Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.
Mark Minton
As a professional musician, Minton is a composer, arranger and performer, a former member of the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra, North Texas Symphony Orchestra and the Bill Causey Orchestra. He is co-founder and assistant conductor of the Red River Wind Orchestra, a professional concert band whose mission is to perform challenging music of artistic merit. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu, National Association of Music Educators, Louisiana Music Education Association and Kappa Kappa Psi. He has remained engaged with Northwestern as a mentor teacher for music education student and was inducted into NSU’s School of Creative and Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2024. Earlier this year, Minton earned a Gold Star Award from Bossier Parish Schools.
Moore graduated from NSU in 1987 with a Bachelor of Music Education degree. He performed with the Spirit of Northwestern marching band, the jazz ensemble, wind ensemble, symphony orchestra and The Entertainers and was an officer in the Student Government Association, a member of Blue Key, a founding member and officer in NSU’s Kappa Kappa Psi chapter and a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Tommy Moore
Over the last 39 years, Moore served in all levels of music education from middle school band director to director of bands for Henderson ISD and Longview ISD with much success as a music educator to individual students, ensembles and bands. He has been a band clinician/conductor for several all-district and all-region bands, as well as director of summer music camps throughout Texas and Louisiana. Although he retired in 2021, he is still active as a band consultant, mentor, clinician and adjudicator.
Moore has received many educational awards for his commitment to students and education, which include “Teacher of the Year” awards, Kappa Kappa Psi Music Education Achievement Award and “Most Influential Teacher Award” given by many of his former students. His professional affiliations include the Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Phi Beta Mu International Band Fraternity, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, Association of Texas Small School Bands, National Association of Military Marching Bands and Kappa Kappa Psi.
Skinner earned an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education (special education, mild/moderate) in 1984 and a master’s in 1988, followed by multiple certifications and a Master’s +30 and additional advanced certifications from LSU-Shreveport. Over 37 years of teaching, instructional leadership and serving as an assistant principal and principal, her ambition was always to make a difference in the lives of children.
LeAnn Gray Skinner
After retirement, she continues to volunteer as a reading tutor and with Dream Hunt, where she provides fishing experiences for students with special needs. She is writing a book about 37 years in education and said that being honored by Northwestern “is a true full-circle moment that reinforces my lifelong ambition to make a difference.”
Blanchard earned a Bachelor of Music Education in 2009 and is currently in her 17th year of teaching and her seventh year as the band director at Bluff Middle School in Ascension Parish. She was previously band director at Tioga Junior High where she maintained the long-standing success of the program. Her bands have consistently received Superior and Excellent ratings at both the district and state levels.
Jessica Fain Blanchard
Blanchard has served as a cooperating teacher for several aspiring music educators and continues to mentor young music educators all over Louisiana. While teaching she has also served as a district director on the Louisiana Music Educators Association board for both District II & District IV for nine years. She currently serves on the LMEA board as the president and past president for the Louisiana Music Adjudicators Association.
Blanchard was selected by her colleagues as the District II Band Director of the Year (2011), Tioga Junior High Teacher of the Year (2013, 2016), received the Golden Apple Teacher Award (2015, 2016), was named as the Bandmaster of the Year for Louisiana Bandmasters Association (2018), the Bluff Middle School Teacher of the Year (2025) and this year was named one of the 50 Teachers Who Made a Difference. She has presented at LMEA and was published in the November issue of The Instrumentalist (2018). Blanchard has served as an honor band clinician and on adjudication panels for several districts across Louisiana and Texas. She is a member of NAfME, NBA, LMEA, TMEA, Louisiana Bandmasters Association, LMAA and Phi Beta Mu.
Seawood is a Natchitoches native and product of the Natchitoches Parish school system. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from NSU in 2016, a Master of Education in educational leadership from Louisiana Christian University in 2023 and currently teaches English/language arts at NSU Elementary Lab School. She has also served as summer school site coordinator and was sponsor/coach of the Natchitoches Central High School Maroon Line from 2017 to 2023. She is an active member of the Service League of Natchitoches.
Aaliyah Rachal Seawood
Seawood believes meaningful learning begins with strong relationships, high expectations and a classroom environment in which every child feels valued and capable of success. Her engaging, student-centered approach encourages children to become confident learners while providing the support they need to grow academically and personally. She leads with compassion, consistency and a genuine commitment to making a lasting difference in the lives of her students. Seawood and her husband Lawrence have been married for eight years and have two children, Lexie and Trey.
Sims is principal at Logansport High School, having previously served as principal at Caddo Middle Career and Technology and assistant principal at Huntington and North Caddo Middle. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at UL-Monroe in 2006, a Master of Business Administration and Graduate Marketing certification from University of Phoenix in 2013 and 2015, a Master of Arts in Teaching at NSU in 2015 and Doctor of Education Leadership at Louisiana Tech in 2023, along with several additional professional certifications.
Joshua Sims
During his career, Sims has been named Teacher of the Year at Green Oaks High School, Louisiana Tech Outstanding Graduate (2017) and NSU’s Excellence in Teaching Graduate Education Award (2015). Sims has been an online academic coach, master teacher in mathematics and leadership team member and has held adjunct, enrollment and management positions at other higher education institutions and in the private sector. He holds membership in several professional organizations with competencies that include executive leadership and strategic planning, curriculum development, education policy, budget management and hybrid learning.
Perot has a long history with Northwestern State, having started first grade at NSU Elementary Lab at age 5 where she soon realized that she wanted to be a teacher. Her mother worked as a secretary in the music department and Perot grew up attending summer programs, swimming lessons and athletic events on campus. As a high school student, she took advantage of a program in which high school students could attend Northwestern classes. When she entered as an undergraduate in 1973, she already had 21 credit hours and her graduated in three years with a degree in middle school education. She acknowledged the late Dr. Mildred “DeeDee” Bailey as an important mentor.
DeeDee Perot
Perot earned a degree in upper elementary education in 1976 and a Master of Science in education technology in 1995. She began her career as an educator in 1976 teaching mathematics at Gorum High School, followed by teaching positions at Weaver Elementary, North Natchitoches Elementary and Natchitoches Jr. High before becoming a supervising teacher at NSU Middle Lab. She then served as Transition to Teaching coordinator for NSU and as a Master Teacher for the Natchitoches Parish School Board and retired after teaching at Natchitoches Central. She was named Teacher of the Year in Natchitoches Parish in 1998. He is affiliated with numerous professional organizations.