The Global Teacher Prize is an annual US$1 million award by the

Varkey Foundation The Varkey Foundation, initially the Varkey GEMS Foundation, is a global charitable foundation focused on improving the standards of education for underprivileged children. It was formed in 2010 by Indian businessman Sunny Varkey, the founder and ...

to a teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.Brain, Rondinelli
"Now There's A Davos Of Education And A $1 Million 'Nobel Prize' For Teachers"
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

''. 22 March 2014. Nominations of teachers who meet specific criteria are open to the worldwide public, and teachers can also nominate themselves.Strauss, Valerie
"Can a $1 million global teacher competition (backed by Bill Clinton) boost the profession?"
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

''. 30 August 2014. The judging is done by the Global Teacher Prize Academy, consisting of head teachers, education experts, commentators, journalists, public officials, tech entrepreneurs, company directors, and scientists from around the world. The annual prize was launched at the second annual

Global Education and Skills Forum The Varkey Foundation, initially the Varkey GEMS Foundation, is a global charitable foundation focused on improving the standards of education for underprivileged children. It was formed in 2010 by Indian businessman Sunny Varkey, the founder an ...

in March 2014 and received over 5,000 nominations from 127 countries. The Global Teacher Prize, which has been referred to by journalists as the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

for teaching,Shapiro, Jordan
"Now There's A Davos Of Education And A $1 Million 'Nobel Prize' For Teachers"
''

''. 22 March 2014. highlights and celebrates the profession while giving greater recognition to the work of teachers all over the world The head of the Varkey Foundation has asserted that, "We want to promote teachers as stars and to support the quality of education to highlight the enormous impact teachers have on our lives"; "Teaching needs to be the most important profession in the world and they've got to be given their due respect."Coughlan, Sean
"The man behind the million-dollar teacher"
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

''. 5 May 2015. Since 2018, Portugal has the 'Global Teacher Prize Portugal', which is an annual 30,000 EUR award by the

as well, sponsored by Delta Cafe, partnered with Fundação Galp, Federação Portuguesa de Futebol, and audited by PWC.

History

The first annual Global Teacher Prize was awarded in March 2015 to

Nancie Atwell Nancie Atwell is an American educator who in 2015 became the first recipient of the Global Teacher Prize, a $1million award presented by the Varkey Foundation to "one innovative and caring teacher who has made an inspirational impact on their s ...

, an innovative and pioneering English teacher and teacher trainer in rural

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

in the United States, who founded and runs a school where students read an average of 40 books a year, choose which books they read, and write prolifically."Nancie Atwell Of Maine Wins $1 Million Global Teaching Prize"
''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

''. 16 March 2015. Atwell has authored nine books on teaching, including one which has sold more than half a million copies. She donated her $1million prize to the upkeep, development, and scholarships of her school, the nonprofit Center for Teaching and Learning, which is also a demonstration school for developing and disseminating teaching methods.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

"Maine Teacher Wins $1 Million Global Teacher Prize in Dubai"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. 15 March 2015."10 Incredible Facts about Prize Winner Nancie Atwell"
. ''VarkeyFoundation.org''. 19 March 2015.

List of awarded Global Teacher Prize

References

{{Reflist Teacher awards Awards established in 2014 International awards Emirati awards Education in the United Arab Emirates 2014 establishments in the United Arab Emirates