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Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington         May 8, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1726)

RELEASE: 03-163

EDUCATOR ASTRONAUT REPORT CARD: NASA MAILROOM OVERFLOWING

     NASA's mailroom is overflowing with applications from 
teachers who want to become members of the Permanent 
Astronaut Corps. More than 1,100 completed applications are 
in the system. The Educator Astronaut Program (EAP) office 
is processing over 3,000 recommendations and transcripts 
that arrived during the last week of the recruitment phase. 

"We're seeing incredible letters of recommendation from 
students, parents, supervisors and community leaders," said 
EAP co-manager, Debbie Brown Biggs. "All of these inspiring 
teachers have impressive resumes, some with six or seven 
transcripts, from their quest for knowledge and their desire 
to continue their own education as teachers," Biggs said.

NASA will not have a final number of complete EAP 
applications until the end of May. Over the next few months, 
NASA will review the applications and select "Superior 
Educator" candidates, using criteria developed by a Blue 
Ribbon Panel. 

The Blue Ribbon panel will be comprised of a diverse group 
of experts from the K-12 education community, outside of 
NASA, including representatives from the teaching profession 
and professional education associations.

"Superior Educator" applicants will be forwarded to the 
Astronaut Selection board at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), 
Houston. The board will identify the top finalists, then 
select three to six teachers to become Educator Astronauts 
in early 2004.

For information about EAP and how to get involved by joining 
the NASA Earth Crew, visit: 

http://edspace.nasa.gov/

For more information about NASA education programs on the 
Internet, visit:

http://education.nasa.gov/

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