English teacher Nancie Atwell of Maine became the first recipient ever of the Global Teacher Prize. Photo credit: Nancie Atwell

One of the most inspirational teachers in American history is Nancie Atwell, an English teacher from Maine who was named the first teacher ever to win a Global Teacher Prize.

Nancie discovered a love of books as a child, when she became bedridden with rheumatic fever. As an adult, she became an English teacher, inaugurating her career at a middle school in New York State in 1973.

In 1990, Nancie founded the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), a non-profit demonstration school she  organized to develop and disseminate effective classroom practices. The center’s faculty conduct seminars, write professional books and articles, and invite teachers from across the US and other countries to spend a week at the school. There they experience the center’s methods firsthand and expose students to other culture groups. So far, 97% of CTL graduates have matriculated to university.

Nancie is also a published author. Her book, In the Middle, describes her innovative reading-writing approach to reading. She also developed the curriculum for a related workshop, where her students were given the freedom to choose the subjects they write about and the books they read. The students, who may not have been readers before taking her workshop, created an average of 20 pieces of publishable writing and read 40 books each year. They also engaged in writing practice that leads to improvement in their writing and reading skills. To learn more about the Center for Teaching & Learning, examine their website at CTL.

Since 1976 Nancie has written nine books on teaching (with praise from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education), edited five collections, and delivered 120 keynote addresses on her teaching. In addition, Nancie has won awards from the Modern Language Association, the International Reading Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English. In 2011 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of New Hampshire.

In 2015, Nancie became the first recipient of the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award presented by the Varkey Foundation to “one innovative and caring teacher who has made an inspirational impact on their students and their community.” To learn more about the Varkey Foundation, click here.