The Varkey Foundation recently announced its annual list of finalists for the Global Teacher Prize. The award recognizes exceptional teachers across the world and provides a one million dollar prize to the winner. Eric Crouch, a fifth grade teacher at Double Churches Elementary School, was announced as one of fifty finalists on December 13, 2018; four from the United States have been selected.

Individuals deemed eligible for the Global Teacher Prize are judged on a rigorous set of criteria to include evidence of:

1. Employing effective instructional practices that are replicable and scalable to influence the quality of education globally

2. Employing innovative instructional practices that address the particular challenges of the school, community or country and which have shown sufficient evidence to suggest they could be effective in addressing such challenges in a new way

3. Achieving demonstrable student learning outcomes in the classroom

4. Impact in the community beyond the classroom that provide unique and distinguished models of excellence for the teaching profession and others

5. Helping children become global citizens through providing them with a values-based education that equips them for a world where they will potentially live, work and socialize with people from many different nationalities, cultures and religions

6. Improving the teaching profession through helping to raise the bar of teaching, sharing best practice, and helping colleagues overcome any challenges they face in their school

7. Teacher recognition from governments, national teaching organizations, head-teachers, colleagues, and members of the wider community or pupils

The winner will be selected by the Global Teacher Prize Academy, which consists of head-teachers, educational experts, commentators, journalists, public officials, tech entrepreneurs, company directors and scientists from around the world.