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 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.