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Rand McNally Offers $10,000 College Scholarships for Students & Teacher Incentives

Rand McNally and USA TODAY have announced the kick-off of an essay contest titled “American the Beautiful” for students in 7th through 12th grade. Students can win a $10,000 college scholarship, a NOOK Tablet™, publication in an eBook,and a trip to Washington, D.C. and. Teachers can win a NOOK Tablet™ and $5,000 worth of product for their schools. The challenge for students is to describe the one place in the U.S. that truly inspires them. It could be their hometown, Monument Valley, or the Lincoln Memorial.

“Rand McNally has been selling educational products to schools for more than a century. We have seen social studies de-prioritized in classrooms in recent years due to budget constraints, while technology has made the world smaller and geographic awareness a more critical skill for the 21st century,” explained Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally. “By encouraging kids to write about a “place,” our goal with this program is to weave social studies content back into core curriculum, as well as to get kids feeling good about their country. With this goal in mind, the “America the Beautiful” contest is the first of many digital programs we have planned for 2012.”

The payoff for a solid, inspiring essay is significant:

· Students who enter the contest have the opportunity to win a $10,000 college scholarship and earn a trip to Washington, D.C.

· Student winners from each state will win an award-winning Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet™ and have their essays published in an “America the Beautiful” eBook available exclusively on NOOK.com.

· The first 1,000 teachers who register will receive a Barnes & Noble gift card.

· Teachers whose classrooms participate in the program have the opportunity to win $5,000 worth of products for their schools.

Additional information and complete contest rules are available at bestoftheroad.com/education.