Winner of Global Teacher Prize donates entire $1M to nonprofit school

EDGECOMB, Maine, April 2 (UPI) -- Hard work finally payed off for Nancie Atwell, an English teacher from Maine, who just won the most coveted award for education, comparable to the Nobel Prize.

Out of the 1,300 applicants considered for the Global Teacher Prize, Atwell, 63, won the title and chose to donate the $1 million prize to the Center for Teaching and Learning, a school she founded herself.

As a student, Atwell said she didn't enjoy reading assigned novels or attending school.

She created the Center for Teaching and Learning, located in Edgecomb, Maine, so students would be provided with options on the books they read and subjects they write about. She put money from the book she authored, In The Middle, toward creating the CTL. The school currently has 80 students attending kindergarten through eighth grade.

Atwell was recognized for the award at a ceremony in Dubai on March 15. The Varkey Foundation, which focuses on education issues, contacted Atwell to inform her that a former student had nominated her for the honor. Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, Dubai emir Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Bill Clinton presented the award to Atwell.

As a member of the Global Teacher Prize Academy, Kevin Spacey congratulated her on her accomplishment.

The money will go toward maintaining the school, creating scholarships and buying more books.