After the departure of former principal Terrance McCotter, Robert M. James succeeded in his position as the new principal of Fuquay-Varina High School and officially began working on Nov. 21. 

Originally from Central Florida, James has been working as an educator since 2004. He started out as a social studies teacher, and in 2005 he moved to North Carolina and continued his teaching career in Wake County.

After spending seven years working as the principal of West Cary Middle School, he made the decision to make FVHS his home.

James is very familiar with the school, having lived in Fuquay-Varina for almost 18 years. He enjoys the tight-knit community, the agricultural history, and most of all, the support that people have always given the school.

His family was involved in the school before he arrived. His wife was a former assistant principal and his two children graduated from the school.

 He explained that this gave him an opportunity to see the importance of FVHS and its unique position in the community. 

“People who live in Fuquay-Varina but no longer have children attending our school support us with an affection and loyalty that is unmatched by other schools in Wake County,”  James explained.

He has long awaited working for FVHS, and he considers the campus a legacy school, a school that has been an integral part of the community of Fuquay-Varina since the school was first established. 

Coming up on the one-hundred-year anniversary of the school, James thinks that this is a great opportunity to set goals as the new principal. 

 “I think one of our big challenges is to establish and reinforce our brand as a tradition-rich high school for our community,” said James. 

This is especially important now that FVHS is not the only school in the area after the opening of Willow Springs High School. 

James has always wanted to help people and becoming an educator was the perfect opportunity to do so. 

“I had a good youth group support network in the church I grew up in, and I enjoyed working with younger youth in various camps and retreats,” said James. 

From this, he discovered that he enjoyed helping others and wanted to pursue a career where he could do the same.

“I decided later in life to go back to school and get my history degree and teacher certification because I knew deep down inside that working with youth was my calling,” said James. 

James will join the amazing staff at FVHS who help students reach their full potential and who are committed to helping the school achieve success in every possible way.

“I believe the future of the school is very bright as we enter a new time and era for FVHS,” James expressed.