Teacher who won $1 million prize accused of shoplifting $15 blouse

An English teacher from Maine who won the one million dollar-Global Teacher Prize last year has been accused of shoplifting a blouse worth $14.99.

An English teacher from Maine who won the one million dollar-Global Teacher Prize last year has been accused of shoplifting a blouse worth $14.99.

Nancie Atwell who won the one million dollar-Global Teacher Prize last year has been accused of shoplifting a blouse. (Picture courtesy: Twitter)

Nancie Atwell is founder of The Centre for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb. She was selected from 1,300 applicants from 127 countries at a ceremony in Dubai with former president Bill Clinton in attendance. She said the money will go toward school improvements.

The Portland Press Herald reports security personnel saw Atwell browsing through a Damariscotta store on March 28. The security officers say she removed the blouse from a hanger, rolled it up and placed it in a bag she was carrying.

Atwell says it was a misunderstanding. She says she had returned another item and took the blouse in exchange. She’s scheduled to appear in court next month on a misdemeanour theft charge.