Meet Hamber’s New Vice Principal Mr. James Francom

Katja Radovic-Jonsson

The new school year has welcomed a plethora of new additions to Hamber. One especially notable new face is Vice Principal Mr. J. Francom. In an interview conducted by The Nest, Francom discussed who he is and what his plans are for Hamber.

Francom is the vice-principal responsible for the grade 8s and 10s. Some of his responsibilities include working with the grade counselors and working together with teachers on small group work. He also has some administrative responsibilities at Hamber.

“I might take on a role like health and safety, or I might take on a role, say, organizing an event,” he explained.

For the last three years, Francom worked as an English and District Resource Teacher at Vancouver Technical Secondary.

“Before that, I was teaching at John Oliver Secondary for nearly ten years as an English, graphic arts, and yearbook photography teacher”, he revealed.

His favourite school subject is English. He explained, “I would’ve been that student that really had to work a lot of extra time on math, but loved story and literature.”

When asked about his impression of the school so far, Francom says that the staff and students are “really welcoming, because you can feel just a friendly vibe in the air.” While he pointedly attended all of the school assemblies so the students could familiarize themselves with him, he finds himself pleasantly surprised by the greetings he receives from students in the halls who don’t even know him.

“I think the teachers here are just tremendous as well. They’re friendly, they’re outgoing, they’re welcoming [...] Hamber is just this phenomenal school, with an incredibly strong student population, and an incredibly rich set of teachers.”

Francom refers to himself as an outdoorsy guy.

“When you see me in my suit and tie, my fancy clothes, this is about the nicest I ever look,” he said. He’s not a serious athlete, but he loves outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and cycling. He’s fond of ultimate, and coached the ultimate team at John Oliver during his time there. Because of his love and understanding of nature, he takes the land acknowledgments at Hamber very seriously.

“I often think that the best thing to do is to take a little time to listen and learn, and then I will be able to see how I can help,” Francom said of his future plans. He prefers to take the lead for school initiatives from students, saying that he often finds that students have powerful ideas, and taking the time to listen to them can provide great opportunities for learning and relationships.

Although his schedule changes day-to-day, students can often find Francom wandering the halls, usually at lunch. He welcomes all students to say hi to him if they spot him, and looks forward to putting names to faces, and getting to know the clubs, community, and students at Hamber.