Joshua Chard, a second-grade teacher at East End Community School and the 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year, has been named a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow for 2026-2027.

Chard is one of just 36 educators nationally and from Canada to be chosen for the fellowship. Supported through the Lindblad Expeditions–National Geographic Fund, the fellowship is a professional learning opportunity for pre-K-12 educators who will embark on expeditions around the world. This year’s Fellows will travel to destinations such as the Arctic, Europe and the Mediterranean, Galapágos, and the Southern Ocean on board National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions’ state-of-the-art expedition vessels. Chard, who also was the 2023 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year, will be participating in an expedition starting in Iceland and traversing the coast of Greenland from August 16-27.

Through their extraordinary travel experiences, the Fellows will deepen their geographic knowledge through immersive, field-based experiences they will bring back to their classrooms, communities and professional networks to ignite curiosity about the world. They will also take on a two-year commitment to support National Geographic’s education initiatives and may be asked to conduct webinars, co-design resources, participate in meetups, and mentor other educators.

“The support I have enjoyed from the Portland Public Schools on my Teacher of the Year journey has given me the confidence to keep pursuing growth opportunities like these,” said Chard, who also engages and mentors other educators as a 2024-2026 Arts Integration Teacher Leader Fellow with the Maine Department of Education. “I am honored to be able to keep amplifying our work in cohorts of exemplary educators from across the country.”

“Congratulations to this remarkable educator for this well-deserved and amazing opportunity,” said Superintendent Ryan Scallon. “The People goal in our Strategic Plan commits us to ensuring instructional excellence and Joshua Chard is exemplary of the high caliber of educators we have at the Portland Public Schools. We are very proud of Joshua for his unceasing dedication to strengthening teaching and learning and we look forward to his sharing the knowledge he gains on this expedition and from the two years of professional learning entailed in this fellowship to benefit educators and students.”

“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, I am inspired by the energy and expertise this new cohort of educators brings to our global community,” said Dr. Deborah Grayson, the National Geographic Society’s chief education and community engagement officer. “Fellows bring the spirit of exploration directly to their students. Whether they are teaching chemistry through Galápagos ocean research or sparking creative writing with stories of Antarctic penguins, they equip students with an Explorer Mindset. By fostering geographic thinking, these educators are inspiring a new generation of changemakers to stay curious and explore the world. We are proud to support these leaders as they inspire the next generation to see beyond their horizons.”

Since 2006, 470 educators have been selected for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship. The program is named in honor of Gilbert M. Grosvenor, chairman emeritus of the National Geographic Society, in recognition of his decades-long work supporting pre-K–12 teachers and advancing geographic education across the United States and Canada. The expeditions were donated in perpetuity to the Society by Lindblad Expeditions’ Founder and Board Co-Chair Sven-Olof Lindblad in 2006 to mark Grosvenor’s 75th birthday and to honor his service to the enhancement and advancement of geographic education.

The Fellows are chosen each year through a competitive application process. In addition to being hosted aboard the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions fleet for a life-changing, field-based experience, they may be asked to conduct webinars, co-design resources, participate in meetups, and mentor other educators.

Learn more about the 2026-2027 cohort.

Photo: Group photo of the 2026-2027 cohort. Joshua Chard is in the top left corner (with bow tie).

Photo credit: Alexandra Daley-Clark/Lindblad Expeditions

The Portland Public Schools is Maine’s largest school district, with more than 6,200 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 61 languages. Approximately 49 percent of the district’s students are white and 51 percent are students of color. More than half of all PPS students are economically disadvantaged.