NH Teacher Named One Of People Magazine's Teachers Of The Year

NEWPORT, N.H. (CBS) - New Hampshire special education teacher Elizabeth Curran has been named one of People Magazine's "Teachers Of The Year."

Curran teaches at Richards Elementary School in Newport and is district trainer for alternative assessments.

Known as "the lady with the little books," Curran has created more than 200 beginner reading books, which draw upon her students' interests, the article says.

Curran gives all the credit to her students.

"They work so hard, they inspire me," Curran told the magazine.

People said Curran was also chosen because of her work creating a reading-buddies program where students of the same age read to each other for an hour after school. This has led to more than 500 families becoming regular library users, People Magazine said.

Five teaches across the country were chosen as Teachers of the Year. The winners were nominated by readers and selected by People editors and an advisory board of education professionals.

Each winner will be in the October 22 issue of the magazine.  They will also receive $4,000 for their school and $1,000 for themselves.

The teachers were also invited to a luncheon in New York on Wednesday.

Other winners include Jennifer Bohn of Maynard Evans High School in Orlando, FL; Brian Copes of Calera High School in Calera, AL; Arwen Imai Matthews of Academy Middle School in Houston TX and Robert J. Vega of Noble Street Charter School in Chicago, IL.