Following the establishment of the international border between Maine and New Brunswick in 1842, the state of Maine sought to assimilate the Francophones of the Saint John River Valley. The territory of the Madawaska region had been contested for numerous years. Left to its own devices until 1842, its institutions differed greatly from that of Maine and New Brunswick. The language barrier, the Madawaska French identity, as well as the differences of institutions between Maine and the Madawaska region hampered the Americanization of the Saint John River Valley. Public school is one way to encourage assimilation, or at least acculturation. This article explores the repercussions of Maine’s assimilation policy on the establishment of the public school system in the Madawaska region. It focuses specifically on teacher training and the specific arrangements in the school system to which the state assented in order to further its assimilation policy.