TO NATIONAL AND EDUCATION EDITORS:

MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY is now accepting nominations for its seventh All-USA Teacher Team. The annual recognition program honors 20 teachers as representatives of all outstanding educators. The 20 individuals and instructional teams named to the First Team will be featured in USA TODAY in October 2004 and will receive trophies. A cash award of $2,500 will be shared by each of the First Team educators and their schools.

USA TODAY seeks to honor teachers in grade levels K-12 who excel in a variety of teaching situations. Teachers from urban, rural and suburban schools, teachers of special education and gifted students, teachers of core subjects and electives, and teachers who travel to more than one school throughout the year have all been named to previous First Teams.

Teachers must be certified teachers K-12 teaching full-time for the 2003- 2004 school year. Individuals must have at least four years of experience, including the 2003-2004 school year. Teachers may be nominated by anyone willing to describe their accomplishments in writing, including administrators, colleagues, past and present students and parents, and community volunteers. No self-nominations are accepted, but teachers must complete the form, describing how they achieve the success described by their nominators. Teams of up to four teachers who team teach -- that is, they collaborate to plan, teach and evaluate the same group of students -- are eligible to be nominated as an instructional team. Team members must average at least four years of teaching experience, including the 2003-2004 school year. Nominations must be postmarked by April 19, 2004.

For more information or to download a nomination form, log on to allstars.usatoday.com. To receive a form in the mail, send a self-addressed, stamped, business-sized envelope specifying the All-USA Teacher Team to: Carol Skalski, USA TODAY, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., 3rd Floor, McLean, VA 22108-9995.

USA TODAY is the nation's top selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 36 locations in the USA and four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. USATODAY.com is an award-winning news and information site on the Internet with more than 35 million monthly visitors. USA TODAY Education offers educators an innovative K-12 classroom curriculum program that makes USA TODAY a daily, real-world learning tool for students. For a wide range of creative learning resources, including a daily customized lesson plan for all subject areas, the latest college and career information and activities promoting family and community involvement, please explore education.usatoday.com. USA TODAY is published by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

SOURCE  USA TODAY