Nine Chilean educators reach the final of the Global Teacher Prize Chile 2026

Nine teachers and early-years educators from four regions have been named finalists for the Global Teacher Prize Chile 2026, the national edition of the award often called the “Nobel Prize of teaching.” Elige Educar, the organisation that runs the prize in Chile, announced the shortlist on 29 September. It was picked from more than 5,000 applications nationwide.

The finalists are five women and four men from the Atacama, Metropolitan, Biobío and Los Lagos regions. They work in public, municipal, subsidised private and JUNJI early-years settings. Winners will be announced on Wednesday 4 November at the Teatro Municipal de Las Condes.

The prize, created by the Varkey Foundation, has run in Chile since 2016. This year it has three categories: Integral Education, Music Education and Early Childhood Education. The national winner receives CLP 8 million. Each category winner receives CLP 3.5 million, and every finalist receives CLP 2 million. Category winners also get a fully funded place at the 2027 Innovation Summit, a week-long programme with international leaders in Panguipulli, organised by the Global Leaders Institute.

Elige Educar executive director Verónica Cabezas said "the finalists work from their own communities and territories and represent the more than 180,000 teachers and educators in Chile".

                                                 
The Finalists

Integral Education

• Tania Isla, Biology teacher at Colegio Don Orione, Los Ángeles (Biobío). She works to close gender gaps in STEM and to use critical thinking to build democratic participation in the classroom.
• Jaime Molina, Maths teacher at Liceo Bicentenario de Excelencia Nuevo Mundo, Mulchén (Biobío). His maths championship and in-school university-entrance preparation helped raise university entry for science-humanities students from 15% to 45% in five years.
• José Luis Cáceres, Escuela Santos Rubio Morales, Pirque (Metropolitana). A former electronics engineer, he uses 3D modelling and hardware programming to bring technology to rural students.

Music Education

• José Bello, Colegio Alicante del Valle, Puente Alto (Metropolitana). He built his teaching around Chilean rock and created a “Día del Rock.” His students’ performances online have passed 7 million views.
• Julio Veas, itinerant teacher at rural schools around Puqueldón (Los Lagos). His project Sonidos Ancestrales En tus Manos has students study native birdlife and build pre-Hispanic wind instruments. He also directs the Conjunto de Cámara Wampo, which has performed in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.
• Toledo, Escuela Especial Paul Harris, Las Condes (Metropolitana). Diagnosed with ADHD as a student, she now teaches neurodiverse pupils. She leads the Banda Mandala and a socio-emotional music workshop that includes yoga.

Early Childhood Education

• Lissette Rivera, Jardín Infantil y Sala Cuna Paidahue, La Reina (Metropolitana). She works with working and migrant families, using play and a school garden as the core of learning.
• Lady Espejo, Escuela Gregorio Castillo Marín, Vallenar (Atacama). With 18 years’ experience, she leads a cultural recovery project with two Diaguita communities.
• Myrian Salinas, Jardín Infantil “Un Mundo de Amor,” Puente Alto (Metropolitana). A community garden began with the children’s own effort to collect seeds and seedlings and became a space for exploring biodiversity.

The jury included Beatrice Ávalos, 2013 National Education Prize winner, and Esther Kuisch Laroche, director of UNESCO’s Santiago regional office. Others were Pablo Aranda of the national youth orchestra foundation FOJI, Sandra Zeballos of Radio ADN, María de la Luz González of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad, and psychologist Neva Milicic.

Winners will be announced on 4 November at the Teatro Municipal de Las Condes. Read more here.