VIDEO: Palestinian Teacher Wins $1 Million Global Teaching Prize

A Palestinian woman took home the Global Teaching Prize during a ceremony held Sunday evening (Sunday morning in Illinois) in Dubai.

Hanan Hroub, who grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp, won the $1 million prize. She yelled, "I did it!" several times before raising hands in unison with her fellow finalists, including Effingham High School teacher Joe Fatheree. A crowd of about 20 had gathered inside Fatheree's classroom at EHS to watch a live-stream of the announcement.

Hroub's bio states that she was 'motivated to teach by her experiences as a mother of children traumatized by a shooting incident' during their time in refugee camps.

The announcement of the winner was made by Pope Francis, who spoke of the importance of play and learning in children's lives. Former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden also spoke via pre-recorded video segments, while actress Salma Hayek and Matthew McConaughey appeared on stage. McConaughey spoke briefly about his mother's influence as a Kindergarten teacher.

Pope Francis announces the winner of the Global Teacher Prize

The crowd at EHS remained jubilant after the announcement, with several remarking how proud they were of Fatheree and that "Effingham, IL has one of the top 10 teachers in the world."

Effingham Unit 40 Superintendent Mark Doan said after the announcement, "We're so blessed to have Mr. Fatheree in our school system, and he'd be the first to tell you, and he's made the comment many times, he works with some great teachers here in Unit 40." Our conversation with Doan is below, and on our You Tube channel.