10 March 2015 TOP TEN FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR WORLD'S FIRST $1M GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE Ten teachers have been chosen from over 5,000 nominations from around the world as finalists for the one million dollar Global Teacher Prize. The top ten finalists announced today are (alphabetically): • Azizullah Royesh, Marefat High School, Kabul, Afghanistan • Kiran Bir Sethi, The Riverside School, Ahmedabad, India • Guy Etienne, College Catts Pressoir, Port-au-Prince, Haiti • Jacqueline Jumbe-Kahura, Bofa Primary school, Kilifi, Kenya • Nancie Atwell, The Center for Teaching and Learning, Edgecomb, Maine, USA • Naomi Volain, Springfield Central High School, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA • Phalla Neang, Phnom Penh Thmey, Phnom Penh, Cambodia • Madenjit Singh, GDI - SOLS 247 School (in Cambodia), Malaysia • Richard Spencer, Middlesbrough College, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom • Stephen Ritz, Public School 55, BronX, New York, USA Widely referred to as the Nobel Prize for teaching, the $1 million Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, is the largest prize of its kind and will be given to one eXceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. All ten finalists will be flown to Dubai for an award ceremony taking place on Sunday 15th March at the Global Education and Skills Forum. The winner will be presented the prize by Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation, in front of Education Ministers, international education eXperts and global business leaders. The winning teacher will be chosen from the ten finalists by a global academy made up of prominent individuals including academy award winning actor Kevin Spacey; social activist Geoffrey Canada; entrepreneur Baroness Martha Lane FoX; Carina Wong, Deputy Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Wendy Kopp, CEO Teach for all; Brett Wigdortz, Founder of Teach first; Grammy award winning musician Esperanza Spalding; Nigerian businessman Jubril Adewale Tinubu; and Vice-Principal, Tsinghua International School, China. The prize was set up to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society. By unearthing thousands of stories of heroes that have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the eXceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world. Ultimately, by hoping to raise teacher respect across the world, it aims to play a part in helping recruit and retain the best candidates for the profession. Since the prize was launched in March 2014 it has received huge global support, including public backing from world leaders Queen Rania of Jordan, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The Italian PM recently invited top 50 shortlisted candidate Daniela Boscolo to speak at his school reform event in Rome. Turkish Education Minister Nabi Avci recently met top 50 shortlisted candidate Dilek Livaneli to better understand her high impact teaching methods. Official congratulatory billboards were also placed at bus stops in her home town of Samsun. Other Education Ministers from around the world have also met and sent messages of support to their respective top 50 shortlisted candidates. The top ten finalists were narrowed down from the top 50 shortlisted candidates, which were chosen from over 5,000 nominations and 1,300 final applications from 127 countries including the US, UK, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, India, Afghanistan, Australia, Argentina MeXico and Jordan, amongst others. Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation, said: “The huge global support we have received for this prize is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives. We introduced the prize in order to return teachers to their rightful position - belonging to one of the most respected professions in society. “The many applications prove that the prize is not only about money; it’s also about unearthing thousands of stories of inspiration” “Of course, more will be needed than the Global Teacher Prize to raise the status of profession worldwide. But my hope is that it’s the start of many conversations around the world about the role of teachers - from families around the dinner table and teenagers on social media to education ministries around the world.” President Bill Clinton, Honorary Chairman of the Varkey Foundation, said: “Attracting the best people to teaching, developing and supporting their skills, and holding our teachers in high regard — all are critically important to achieve excellence, both in teaching and learning.” Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey, who sits on the Global Teacher Prize Academy that chooses the final winner, said: "When I was starting out, I was inspired by an older, more experienced actor, who told me that he thought I ought to go into acting professionally. That's the kind of mentoring and personal support that every young person needs to realise their potential. "It's the kind of encouragement and guidance that good teachers give to their pupils every day. And that is why I support the Varkey Foundation's Global Teacher Prize. However much we achieve in life, we all began learning the basics from a teacher in a classroom. Those that teach - devoting their talents and time to nurturing the talents of others - deserve to be respected and celebrated" Further information about the top 10 shortlist is available here: http://www.globalteacherprize.org . To join the conversation online follow #TeacherPrize on: https://twitter.com/TeacherPrize and https://www.facebook.com/teacherprize Ends NOTES TO EDITORS: 1. The Varkey Foundation is the philanthropic arm of GEMS Education. Its aim is to impact 100 underprivileged children for every child enrolled in a GEMS school. The Honorary Chair of the Foundation is President Bill Clinton. More information is at https://www.varkeyfoundation.org/ 2. The winner will be paid the prize money in equal installments over ten years, and the Varkey Foundation will provide the winner with financial counseling. Without compromising their work in the classroom, the winner will be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation, attending public events and speaking in public forums about improving the prestige of the teaching profession. A condition of winning the prize is that the winner remains as a classroom teacher for at least five years. 3. The Prize Committee will look for evidence that applicants for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize have met the following criteria: • Innovative and effective instructional practices and student learning outcomes in the classroom and school. • Accomplishments beyond the classroom that provide role models for the teaching profession – whether through charitable or community work, or through sporting, academic or cultural achievement. • Contributions to public debates on raising the bar of the teaching profession, whether through writing articles, blogs, take part in media and social media campaigns, events or conferences. • Sharing inspirational education practices with other teachers • Preparing children to be global citizens in a world where they will encounter people from many different religions, cultures and nationalities. • Improving access to a quality education for children of all backgrounds. • Third party recognition of a teacher’s achievements in the classroom and beyond. This can include pupils, colleagues, head-teacher as well as members of the wider community – including government, faith organisations and business. Supporting written and/or video testimonials should be provided. • Encouraging others to join the teaching profession. 4. The Global Teacher Prize follows a long-standing commitment to improve the status of teachers by the Varkey Foundation. In November 2013, the foundation published the Global Teacher Status Index, the first attempt to compare attitudes towards teachers in 21 countries. The indeX found that there were significant differences between the status of teachers worldwide. The survey also found that in many countries, between a third and half of parents would “probably” or “definitely not” encourage their children to enter the teaching profession. .