Maine DOE Welcomes 2025-2026 Teacher Leader Fellows

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Office of Teaching and Learning is proud to welcome the 2025-2026 Teacher Leader Fellows. These exceptional educators bring diverse expertise and passion to their work, helping to strengthen teaching and learning across the state. Each Fellow will engage educators in their focus area, curate resources, and provide professional learning opportunities that expand access, equity, and excellence in Maine classrooms.

We are excited to introduce this year’s cohort:

Breanna Bellefontaine-Krupski
Civics Teacher Leader Fellow
Scarborough High School Teacher

Breanna Bellefontaine-Krupski, known to her students as Mrs. B-K, returns for a second year as the Civics Teacher Leader Fellow. A lifelong Mainer, she has spent 14 years teaching civics, including at Scarborough High School and in rural schools across the state. Along the way, she earned National Board Certification in Social Studies, participated in the 2019 Maine Teacher Leader Cohort, and collaborated with civic organizations nationwide.

Most recently, Bellefontaine-Krupski served as a Constitutional Fellow with the National Constitution Center and continues to serve on their Teacher Advisory Board while also working as a Teacher Ambassador for Retro Report Education.

In her second year as a Fellow, she plans to gather a monthly cohort of civics teachers, share a newsletter of resources and opportunities, and deepen connections across the Maine civics world.

Joshua Chard
Arts Integration Teacher Leader Fellow
East End Community School Teacher

Joshua Chard, the 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year, returns for a second year as the Arts Integration Teacher Leader Fellow. A second-grade teacher at East End Community School in Portland, Joshua has spent 33 years in education. His work is rooted in culturally responsive teaching and the belief that joyful relationships are at the heart of student learning.

Joshua’s classroom is very diverse, with students speaking more than a dozen home languages. He emphasizes equity, student voice, and the arts as tools to help students thrive and to anchor schools as vital parts of their communities.

Beyond the classroom, Joshua is an accomplished theater director who uses stories to build empathy and expand understanding. Above all, he describes himself as a joyful teacher who loves the fresh start each September and the chance to help children discover their voices.

Mark Ashe
Financial Literacy Teacher Leader Fellow
Cape Elizabeth High School Teacher

Mark Ashe, a social studies teacher at Cape Elizabeth High School, is the 2025-2026 Financial Literacy Teacher Leader Fellow. With 21 years in Maine classrooms and a background in Economics and Social Studies Education, Ashe connects personal finance to broader issues of justice and democracy. He helps students to see how topics like compound interest or student debt intersect with systemic inequities and national policy.

Ashe also runs a financial planning and investment advisory firm, bringing real-world expertise into his teaching on business, investing, and financial planning. He looks forward to continuing his mission of promoting financial literacy as a foundation for equity and civic engagement.

Outside of teaching, Ashe enjoys traveling and watching sports with his wife and two sons.

Lisa Knedler
Career Connections Teacher Leader Fellow
Gray-New Gloucester High School Teacher

Lisa Knedler, a Career Explorations Teacher and International Baccalaureate  Coordinator at Gray-New Gloucester High School, is the 2025-2026 Career Connections Teacher Leader Fellow. Knedler’s passion for student aspirations has shaped her career, from serving as Maine’s first College and Career Access Coordinator to designing career pathways and events like “Career Day” and “Curious about College.”

Currently teaching an Early College Career Exploration course through the University of Maine, Knedler equips students to align their interests and goals with career plans while earning transferable credit. She looks forward to creating resources grounded in Maine’s Life and Career Ready standards and collaborating with educators, career organizations, and employers to expand opportunities statewide.

Rebecca Carey
Multilingual Learners Teacher Leader Fellow
English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Teacher/Coordinator, RSU 3

Rebecca Carey returns for a second year as a Teacher Leader Fellow, continuing her work with Early Learning educators and leaders. Last year, she focused on culturally and linguistically responsive programming and helped to develop tools to welcome families and guide instructional planning.

As the 2025-2026 Multilingual Learners Teacher Leader Fellow, Carey will collaborate with the Maine DOE’s ESOL team to support multitiered systems of support (MTSS) for multilingual learners. Her focus will include creating family-facing documents that educators can share with culturally and linguistically diverse families, as well as curating resources that help teachers to plan intentionally for their multilingual learners.

Melissa Frans
Multilingual Learners with Disabilities Teacher Leader Fellow
Special Education Multilingual Coordinator, Portland Public Schools

Melissa Frans returns for a second year, continuing her focus on supporting educators of dual-identified multilingual learners with disabilities. Through her leadership last year, a professional learning community explored strategies for integrating Individual Language Acquisition Plans (ILAP) with Individualized Education Programs (IEP).

This year as the 2025-2026 Multilingual Learners with Disabilities Teacher Leader Fellow, Frans will expand on that work by enhancing instructional practices and building interdisciplinary collaboration so that all students—especially those at the intersection of language acquisition and disability—have equitable access to learning.

Together, these six Fellows bring expertise, creativity, and passion to the Maine DOE’s work. Their leadership will provide educators with tools, resources, and opportunities to strengthen teaching and learning across our state.

Please join us in welcoming the 2025-2026 Teacher Leader Fellows!