Troy superintendent's travels provide global perspective

Russia has fascinated Troy School District Superintendent Jacob Francom, 37, since he first studied the language and culture as a 16-year-old.

What most people don’t do is take it to the extent Francom has. He is fluent in Russian, a skill he picked up from living abroad for two years as a missionary for the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Later in life, he achieved a master’s degree in Russian language, literature and linguistics.

Russia was one of the reasons he met his wife, Jill, in 2000. She also had lived in Russia for 18 months.

“One reason why we got set up on a blind date is because we both spoke Russian,” Francom said.

Francom first traveled to Russia in 1997. He was 19 and this was his first trip abroad, other than going to Canada. Although it was years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, residual effects of the collapse were still felt and Francom wasn’t far from the struggles of the local people.

“I worked in orphanages, hospitals and schools,” Francom said. “We helped people that struggled. In the ’90s they had an economic collapse. The ruble went from five rubles to the dollar to over 30 rubles to the dollar seemingly overnight.”

Finances were a hardship for many people.

“People bought everything they could. You couldn’t get food in the stores and outside markets for two to three weeks. We were taking food around to people,” Francom said.

Despite some of the hardships, he was excited to be in his new surroundings. Over the next two years he lived in different locations that had populations in the hundreds of thousands or millions, including Moscow, Podolsk and Voronezh.

“Podolsk was probably my favorite. It was a suburb of Moscow. It was a smaller city and close to Moscow. You could get into the country faster,” Francom said.

Before the world became interconnected through technology, an American was a new sight to some Russians.

“Russia was just starting to open up more,” Francom said. “Some cities had been closed off to the world for a long time.”

When Francom returned to America at 21 he went back to college and finished a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics. He initially was going to be a pre-med major, but ultimately went into teaching.

Russia was never far from his mind and he hoped to visit again. He received the opportunity in 2005 through Duke University. At the time he was a graduate student.

“I taught some undergrad classes at the University of Arizona and got a scholarship through Duke University to study abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was amazing,” Francom said. “It’s a beautiful city — a lot of canals patterned after Venice.”

By 2005, Russia was still changing.

“I noticed it was more prosperous. People had cellphones; more people had nicer cars,” Francom said.

During his study abroad he traveled as far as the rugged Ural Mountains that bordered the continental divide between Europe and Asia.

Francom said he definitely hopes to go back in the future. When asked his opinion on current politics in Russia, Francom said he hasn’t followed it close enough to form any solid opinions.

“There are just so many situations going on right now, from Ukraine to Crimea. From what I can tell, I know people in Russia love Putin,” Francom said.

Lately, Francom has focused his travels on Saudi Arabia as a member of AdvancED, a nonprofit of education professionals who review schools around the world that are accredited through the organization. Troy schools are also accredited through AdvancED.

He went to Saudi Arabia in 2013 and last March. He may have mastered Russian, but he hasn’t pinned down Arabic — yet.

“I have a couple of books, but I haven’t had the time yet,” he said.

Francom said the international private school he evaluated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was quite different from American schools. Boys and girls attended school in separate buildings after third grade. Boys had male teachers and girls were taught by female teachers. Both boys and girls learn the same subjects American students do, such as math, science and social studies, but are also taught Arabic and Islam.

Francom plans to broaden the minds of Troy students by connecting them with pen pals from the Saudi Arabian school.

“I think it would give them an opportunity to see other kids in other cultures,” he said.

People might consider Francom a life-long learner. In 2013, Francom completed his Ph.D. in educational leadership. In addition to serving as a superintendent he is the Troy Junior and Senior High School principal. Recently he was named principal of the year by the Montana Association of Secondary School Principals. Francom also teaches a curriculum class for administrators through the University of Montana.

The doctorate marks “just over 10 years,” of education, according to Francom, who doesn’t hold just one, but two master’s degrees, his second being in educational leadership.

So what is on the horizon for Francom? He plans on returning to Saudi Arabia in the fall or spring to do educational consulting.

When he’s not traveling abroad, watching Russian movies with his wife or eating borscht, Francom enjoys horseback riding, hiking, being outdoors and reading.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.