Global Teacher Award winner Nancie Atwell, an English Teacher from the State of Maine, has promised that she would donate the $1 Million cash prize to a school.
The award was created by the Varkey Foundation in order to raise the status of teaching to its former glory as a high-profile profession. The top prize was awarded to Ms. Atwell by an international panel of judges composed of educators, charity leaders and entrepreneurs.
Sunny Varkey, the founder of the foundation stated, "We introduced the prize in order to return teachers to their rightful position, belonging to one of the most respected professions in society."
While receiving her award during the Global Education and Skills Forum held in Dubai last March 15, Sunday, Nancie Atwell said that it was a privilege to help the youth and work as a teacher, reports BBC. Atwell also stated, "We invite our students to engage in worthwhile schoolwork and we ease the way however we can."
It was also during the awards ceremony that Ms. Atwell made mention of her promise to give away the million-dollar prize to the Center for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb, Maine -a school she co-founded back in 1990. The school has a library for every classroom and students are known to read 40 books annually on average.
Ms. Atwell herself is an author, having published 9 books on education, including "In the Middle", which sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.
As reported by the Miami Herald, among those who attended the event were Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and Rwanda President Paul Kagame.