Award Winning EECS Teacher Joshua Chard.  (Photo courtesy of Linwood Leland).

Joshua Chard, a teacher at East End Community School (EECS), on North Street on Munjoy Hill. has been named the Cumberland County Teacher of the year for 2023.  That is not only a well-earned honor for the veteran eductor, but it also puts him in the running to be the 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year.

Chard was among 16 teachers – one from each of Maine’s counties – honored at the 2:00 pm ceremony yesterday, Thursday, May 11 at the State Capitol in Augusta as part of the annual Maine County Teachers of the year awards.  Governor Janet T. Mills (D), Maine Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Dan Chuta and Casco Bay HIgh School teacher Matt Bernstein, the 2023 Maine Teacher of the year, were among those in attendance.

Bernstein was the 2022 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year, so the selection of Chard makes the second year in a row that a Portland Public School teacher has been chosen for the County Teachers of the Year honor.

EECS Principal Boyd Marley said the recognition of Chard, a looping teacher who teaches Grades 2 and 3, is well deserved.  “Joshua Chard is a veteran educator who is respected by famlilies, students and all of his colleagues,” Marley said.  “He is a dynamic teacher who focuses on delivering curriculum in rich and engaging practices.  He holds his students to high expectations and supports students in meeting those expectations in both a firm but nurturing way.”

Chard, who has been an educator for more than 3 decades, said:  “I am honored by this recognition.  There are amazing things happening every day in classrooms across Cumberland County and I am honored that what I do is being recognized as being representive of the quality instruction happening in those classrooms every day.  I am especialy excited to have a platform to talk about diverse, urban schools and to be a voice for the outstanding things happening there.”