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Portland, Maine

UNE alum Joshua Chard is Maine's 2024 Teacher of the Year

Portrait of Joshua Chard against a blue backdrop overlaid with a campus aerial
Joshua Chard, M.S.Ed. ’09
Read more in the Portland Press Herald
See more at WMTW News 8
Read the Maine DOE press release

Maine’s 2024 Teacher of the Year is University of New England alum Joshua Chard.

Chard is a second and third-grade teacher at East End Community School in Portland and the drama director at Deering High School. He received his Master of Science in Education ­– K-6 Literacy from UNE Online, the University’s College of Professional Studies, in 2009.

Chard was among five UNE alumni who were named the Maine County Teachers of the Year in May.

“Joshua Chard embodies the qualities that make Maine teachers amazing, and we’re thrilled to honor him as Maine’s 2024 Teacher of the Year,” Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin, herself a 1996 UNE alum, said in a statement. “Today, we celebrate Joshua’s passion for teaching, his love for his students and public education, and his ability to make each and every person feel welcome and like they belong. Colleagues, parents, and community members describe Joshua as kind, loving, passionate, generous, and someone who finds joy in the uniqueness of each human.”

The Maine Teacher of the Year (MTOY) initiative is a program of the Maine Department of Education and is administered by Educate Maine, a business-led organization working to advance educational attainment and readiness for work among all Mainers.

Chard told UNE News in July that relationships are at the heart of everything he does as a teacher. He said he decided to teach elementary school because of his own experiences as an adolescent

“My (fifth grade) teacher, Mrs. Breau, was the kind of teacher who sees children. Being seen and being celebrated by my teacher made me want to do the same for others when I grew up,” Chard said. “I am a successful teacher because of the amazing teachers who came before me.”

He credited UNE with providing rich discussions about teaching methods that further informed his thinking as a teacher.

“I was already a veteran educator when I began pursuing my degree (at UNE); experienced teachers benefit and grow from pushing their thinking in a rigorous academic environment,” he said.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.