Seven Inspiring Teachers Prepare for Adventures as Part of Wonder® Bread's Teacher Tour

IRVING, Texas, March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- From thousands of nominations submitted by American families, seven inspiring teachers have been selected as the winners of Wonder® bread's 7Wonders of the USA Teacher Tour program. The program is part of the brand's Wonder Honors America's Everyday Heroes campaign, which celebrates ordinary people making extraordinary contributions to their families, communities or country. Susan Hutchens, John Stewart, Colin Hanson, Pamela Lazarus, Selina Smith, Beth Teeple and Cecilia Ice-Mays are the seven winning teachers.

The winners of the 7Wonders of the USA Teacher Tour were chosen based on nominations by parents and students, colleagues or community members who described how these teachers inspire a sense of wonder in their students. Each winning teacher will visit one of the 7Wonders of the USA and will provide an interactive educational experience to their students back home. The 7Wonders of the USA locations span the country and include the Grand Canyon, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the New Orleans Jazz Park, Mt. Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, the National Mall in Washington D.C. and Mt. Kilauea in Hawaii. Wonder will present 25 tablet computers to the schools of the seven winning teachers for each of the remote lessons and to help contemporize learning in their classrooms and support the growth of technology in schools.

"Teachers are everyday heroes. They help to prepare our children to take on the challenges of tomorrow and encourage them to do great things," said Tameika Miller, Brand Manager for the bakers of Wonder. "Wonder is proud to honor these teachers and to help support schools in local communities across the U.S."  

"I am grateful to the family who nominated me and to Wonder bread for providing this opportunity for my school, my students and myself," said Ms. Teeple, who teaches 3rd grade at Urban Discovery Academy in San Diego, CA and will visit Washington, D.C. "I was fortunate to have been inspired by some amazing teachers throughout my educational upbringing, which is what inspired me to choose this path for myself. I sincerely hope I will have a similar impact on my students, to pursue their dreams."

Edgar, WI fifth grade history teacher, Mr. Hanson, who will teach a lesson from the Grand Canyon said, "This trip is a thrilling opportunity and the addition of the 25 tablet computers will enhance the learning experience for the students of Edgar Elementary School." 

"I visited the Statue of Liberty in 1980. What a thrill to return many years later as an adult! I hope my enthusiasm inspires my students to learn more about the Statue of Liberty and New York City," noted Ms. Hutchens, a special education teacher at Mountain View Elementary School in Ft. Collins, CO.

Ms. Lazarus, who teaches 5th grade science at Thornton Creek Elementary School in Novi, MI and will be traveling to Mt. Rushmore, said, "I'm terribly excited to have tablets to share with our school. They open up a whole new way to keep kids engaged, and will push me to grow and find the best ways to use technology in the classroom." 

Ms. Smith, who teaches 4th grade at Pottsville Middle School in Pottsville, AR, will be visiting New Orleans Jazz Park while 8th-grade English teacher, Mr. Stewart, will travel from Gunston Middle School in Arlington, VA to Mt. Kilauea, the nation's most active volcano, in Hawaii. Ms. Ice-Mays, a 2nd grade teacher at Charles Evans Hughes Elementary School in Chicago, IL, will be teaching a lesson from the Kennedy Space Center.

In addition to the seven winning teachers, seven lucky Wonder fans from all across the country who nominated inspiring teachers were chosen to win their own tablet computers.  Plus, as part of the 7Wonders of the USA Teacher Tour, Wonder made a donation to Teach For America, to help grow a new generation of great teachers.

To learn more about the 7Wonders of the USA Teacher Tour and all the winners, visit www.7wondersoftheusa.com. For more information about Wonder, please visit www.wonderbread.com or become a part of Wonder's Facebook community at www.facebook.com/wonderbread. You can also follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WonderBread.

About Wonder:
Wonder bread, one of America's most popular brands of bread, has a long history of baking soft, delicious, and nutritious breads for the whole family.  In March 2010, Wonder® launched Smartwhite®, a new bread with the taste and soft texture of white bread - but with the fiber of 100% whole wheat bread. The brand also launched Wonder® Smartwheat®, last year, a soft and delicious 100% whole wheat bread with added nutrition. Both breads have no high fructose corn syrup. In addition, Wonder Classic and Wonder Classic Sandwich breads have improved nutrition, providing the same amount of calcium as eight ounces of milk in two slices, and are good sources of vitamin D.

Wonder led the way in joining the National Sodium Reduction Initiative, an unprecedented public-private partnership established to help reduce sodium in foods by 20 percent over the next five years, became the first brand to take THE DOCTORS' "Halt the Salt" pledge, and publicly commit to NSRI guidelines.  Already, Wonder® Classic and Wonder® made with Whole Grain White and Smartwhite are baked to have reduced sodium.

SOURCE Wonder(R)