Superintendent

Richard Lyons

Mr. Richard Lyons has some experience with small communities and schools.  He grew up on a potato farm in Masardis, Maine (population 202), which is in Aroostook County. His K-8 school was a four room schoolhouse and he had 12 students in his class.  Richard was a basketball and baseball player in high school. He attended college at the University of Maine Orono and attained a B.S. M. Ed. and later a Certificate of Advanced Studies.  After graduating he taught for three years, and then at 26 years old became a school principal. He served the principalship for 11 years and then as superintendent for the next 30 years.  Richard was the superintendent for RSU-22 in Hamden for 28 years, which is an unprecedented tenure.  Over the past last 40 years he has stayed physically active, running a total of 40 marathons, including 17 consecutive Boston marathons, as well marathons in New York City and New Orleans.  He has also officiated basketball for 17 years. Richard is on the Graduate Faculty at University of Maine and teachers courses in educational leadership.  He is married to Patricia, who was a corporate banker and former elementary teacher. Richard and Patricia have a son and a daughter and now three granddaughters. All live in Maine.

Principal

Monte Selby

Monte Selby grew up playing sports, writings songs, and going to school with his brothers and sisters in Gage, Oklahoma, population 418.  Gage had a giant artesian swimming pool, so summers were spent swimming.  His family moved to Kansas where he finished high school, went to college, and became a music teacher.  Next, he worked for 7 years as a middle school principal (which he loved!), and then pursued a Doctorate Degree.  That led to 9 years as a professor of school leadership, and ironically, many years of writing and performing as a recording artist for MDM Records, Nashville.  Later, he traveled throughout the USA and other countries working with teachers and students, co-writing educational books, and creating music.  Dr. Selby and his wife, Michelle, have 5 grown children scattered across Maine, Colorado, New Mexico and Thailand.  They have lived surrounded by the wheat fields of Kansas, next to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and near the coast in Cumberland, Maine. This year will be their first experience on an island, and they are very excited to call Vinalhaven home!  The Selbys love small towns, small schools, learning everyone’s name, and getting involved in the community.

Assistant

Principal

Bryan Feezor

Bryan Feezor majored in Mathematics Education and University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and minored in Education. While there, he was part of an Internship program that took undergraduate math majors and placed them in local middle and high school classrooms. As part of this program he spent a semester writing and filming videos for a middle school math program one year and working with high school students the next year. After graduating with a Bachelor degree in Mathematics, he enrolled in the masters program at UCSC in Mathematics Education after being chosen as a Robert Noyce Fellowship Recipient. After sailing aboard the Schooner Heritage for a season around the Penobscot Bay, Bryan heard of Vinalhaven School was in need of a High School Math teacher. Since he started teaching here he has spent many classes working on keeping the students interested by using his own personal interests. Bryan’s math classes are often discussing Scuba diving (of which he is a certified instructor), bicycling, or sailing and how through these topics we can learn about a number of mathematics ideas. Bryan also works with the Skippers class in discussing the changing fisheries and how the students can have an impact in their own front yards. 

Special

Education

Judy Gove

Judy Gove attended the University of Massachusetts where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Education from University of Maine-Orono. Judy holds an endorsement in Special Education Administration in addition to certifications in social studies and special education. Prior to working as a special education director, she was a middle school special education teacher and co-taught social studies, math and science. During her teaching career, Judy enjoyed creating hands-on and community based learning experiences with students.  In her work as a special education director, Judy collaborated with outside agencies and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS) to provide school-based day treatment programs at elementary, middle and high school levels. She is an advocate for children and endorses a collaborative and team approach to problem solving. Judy has served on the boards of Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities and Autism Society of Maine. Although no longer working full time in education, Judy is excited at the opportunity to continue to work with children and young people, families and the Vinalhaven School staff and community. She and her husband recently celebrated their 41st anniversary. They have three grown children and seven wonderful grandchildren along with a dog and flock of chickens. She loves helping out with her grand-kids, camping, gardening, biking, reading, arts and crafts, and spending time with family and friends.