PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Department of Education and Educate Maine named East End Community School teacher Joshua Chard as Maine’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.
The announcement was made on Wednesday during a surprise ceremony with students and educators at Chard’s school in Portland.
“Joshua Chard embodies the qualities that make Maine teachers amazing, and we’re thrilled to honor him as the 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year. Today we celebrate Joshua’s passion for teaching, his love of his students and public education, and his ability to make each and every person feel welcome and like they belong,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin. “Colleagues, parents, and community members describe Joshua as kind, loving, passionate, generous, and someone who finds joy in the uniqueness of each human.”
Chard is a second and third-grade teacher at East End Community School and the drama director at Deering High School in Portland.
The DOE says joyful relationships are at the heart of everything Chard does in his classroom, and he is inspired every day by the honor of lifting up and celebrating his diverse learners.
During his 31-year career, he has been an educational technician, has taught fourth and fifth grade, and has been an instructional coach with a focus on mathematics.
Outside of school, Chard can be found participating in local theater as an actor and director and exploring Maine’s beaches and lighthouses with his husband and their grandsons.
“This recognition is about my amazing students as much as it is about me. How lucky am I to get to be inspired by these hilarious, insightful, motivated, and empathetic humans every day? They make me want to be the best teacher I can be because they deserve it, and they demand it of me. I am feeling so blessed and so seen today,” said Chard.
The Teacher of the Year Program is a year-long process that involves educator portfolio and resume submissions, interviews, oral presentations, and classroom visits made by a selection panel composed of Maine Department of Education staff, school administrators, legacy Teachers of the Year, State Board of Education members, and Maine business partners. Chard was nominated for the honor by his principal and assistant principal.
Chard will spend his year of service advocating for students and teachers and speaking to the importance of education in preparing Maine students for the future. He will also represent Maine in the National Teacher of the Year program.
