Two Portland Public Schools educators have been selected by the Maine Department of Education as its 2024/25 Teacher Leader Fellows. Joshua Chard, East End Community School teacher and 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year, and Melissa Frans, the district’s special education multilingual coordinator, are members of the new class of six extraordinary educators from across the state. The six bring expertise in civics, personal finance, integrated arts, and multilingual learning, specifically with newcomers, as well as multilingual learners with disabilities. They’ll share their expertise with other educators across Maine.

In addition to Chard and Frans, the other Teacher Leader Fellows are Breanna Bellefontaine-Krupski from Scarborough High School, Samantha Drost from Caribou High School, Rebecca Carey from RSU 3 and Jenny Lunt from South Portland Middle School. Maine DOE welcomed the six in an announcement released this week.

The Teacher Leader Fellows will provide educators across Maine with integrated resources and materials, host professional learning opportunities, and maintain web pages with rich and informative content. Chard, who also is Deering High School’s drama director, is the Arts Integration Teacher Leader Fellow; Frans is the Multilingual Learner: Multilingual Learners with Disabilities Teacher Leader Fellow; Bellefontaine-Krupski is Civics Teacher Leader Fellow; Drost is the Personal Finance Teacher Leader Fellow; Carey is the Multilingual Learner Teacher Leader Fellow; and Lunt is the Multilingual Learner: Secondary Newcomer Teacher Leader Fellow.

“Congratulations to Joshua Chard and Melissa Frans for being selected as members of this distinguished cohort,” said Superintendent Ryan Scallon. “This is a well-deserved recognition of Joshua’s and Melissa’s outstanding skills and knowledge as educators. We are fortunate to count them among the many exemplary teachers we have at the Portland Public Schools and are proud that they’ll have this opportunity to share their expertise with other educators around Maine.”

Educators can receive weekly communications and monthly professional learning from the 2024/25 Teacher Leader Fellows at the following link: https://maine.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a582edd6473e477ef6307c769&id=21283d239d (Select a subscription to – “Integrate THIS – 2024/25 Teacher w Leader Fellows Newsletter”).

Also, educators should be on the lookout for curated resources and materials, integrated professional learning opportunities, and facilitated responsive communities of practice, all designed for educators working with elementary and secondary newcomers and multilingual learners with disabilities, preK-12. Visit the Maine DOE Multilingual Learner website for more information!

Here’s more information about the two PPS 2024/25 Teacher Leader Fellows:

Joshua Chard

Maine DOE Arts Integration Teacher Leader Fellow

Teacher at East End Community School, Drama Director at Deering High School in Portland, 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year

“My approach to designing and implementing curriculum for young learners always starts through a culturally responsive lens. I believe in the power of joyful relationships, which are at the heart of everything I do in my classroom. Arts Integration encourages students to become more engaged and creative, making connections that stick with them,” said Joshua Chard, Maine DOE Arts Integration Teacher Leader Fellow.

Joshua Chard, the 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year, is a second—and third-grade looping teacher at East End Community School and the winter and spring drama director at Deering High School in Portland. He is excited to serve as the Teacher Leadership Fellow for Arts Integration through the Maine Department of Education. Chard is deeply inspired by the honor of lifting and celebrating his diverse learners.

Chard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in theater from the University of Southern Maine, a Master of Science degree in Education with a K-6 Literacy focus from the University of New England, and a certificate in K-6 Standards-Based Mathematics from the American College of Education. He is also certified as a K-12 teacher of English to speakers of other languages.

Chard is proud to teach at two of the most culturally diverse schools north of Boston. During his 33-year career, he has been an educational technician, has taught fourth and fifth grade, and has been a mathematics instructional coach. He has passionately dedicated his entire career to working in high-needs urban schools and is excited to have a platform to share the fantastic work there. Chard is genuinely enthusiastic about the possibilities of arts integration in our classrooms. Blending music, drama, dance and movement, and visual arts with core subjects brings learning to life in vibrant ways. According to Chard, “Arts Integration encourages students to become more engaged and creative, making connections that stick with them.”

Outside of school, Chard is an actor and director who participates in local theater. He also loves exploring Maine’s beaches and lighthouses with his husband and their grandsons.

Questions or thoughts on Maine Arts Integration resources? Email Joshua at joshua.chard@maine.gov

Melissa Frans

Maine DOE Multilingual Learner (ML) Teacher Leader Fellow: Multilingual Learners with Disabilities

Special Education Multilingual Coordinator, Portland Public Schools

“I am excited to support educational professionals across Maine who are working with multilingual learners with disabilities. Navigating the intersection of multilingualism, multiculturalism, and disability can be complex and benefits from a team of people learning and working together. I look forward to collaborating and expanding our professional capacity through understanding the legal rights of our students and how to holistically support their instructional needs with a focus on a strengths-based approach,” said Melissa Frans, Multilingual Learner Teacher Leader Fellow.

Melissa Frans works in the Portland Public Schools as the Special Education Multilingual Coordinator. Her role focuses on implementing systems and structures to support dual-identified multilingual students with disabilities through guidance and collaboration with educators and families. She has her Certificate of Advanced Study in TESOL, Masters in Special Education and is certified to teach in those subject areas as well as general elementary education. She has worked in public education for two decades as an ESOL teacher and special education ed tech and has worked in Portland for eighteen of those years. She serves on the MEA Committee of Human and Civil Rights and Social Justice and is passionate about disability justice and equitable learning opportunities for multilingual and multicultural students. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with her family, working in her garden, and walking in the woods with her dog.

Questions or thoughts about supporting multilingual learners with disabilities? Email Melissa at Melissa.Frans@maine.gov

Click on Maine DOE’s announcement to learn more about all the 2024/25 Teacher Leader Fellows and how to contact them.

The Portland Public Schools is Maine’s largest school district, with more than 6,600 students, and it’s also the most diverse. About one-third of the district’s students come from homes where languages other than English are spoken—a total of 53 languages. Approximately 48 percent of the district’s students are white and 52 percent are students of color. Nearly half of PPS students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.