Former SAISD student recalls teacher-turned-Texas senator-elect James Talarico

Christopher Martinez still remembers the first day he met James Talarico at Rhodes Middle School.

Years later, Martinez stood before a crowd on election night to introduce his former teacher ahead of Talarico’s victory speech, a full-circle moment that highlighted the lasting influence Talarico had on students long before entering public life.

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Talarico was among the historic Democratic candidates who turned Texas blue for the first time in decades. He is the Texas Senate projected winner who beat out a well-known political name, Ken Paxton.

Martinez was one of the first students Talarico taught during his first teaching job at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio Independent School District.

Now an adult, Martinez said Talarico became a role model from the moment he greeted students at the door of his sixth-grade English language arts classroom.

He said Talarico stood there wearing khakis, a white button-up shirt and boots, ready to shake each student’s hand and look them in the eye.

For Martinez, the moment set a tone.

“As a sixth-grade student, you kind of look at it and you’re like, OK, I don’t really know how to go about and what to make of that level of professionalism,” he said. “But at the end of the day, that was the standard that he laid out for us from the very beginning.”

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He said Talarico brought professionalism and respect into the classroom and set a standard that students noticed. Martinez said that approach even influenced other teachers at the school.

“That was definitely something that eventually even started rubbing off on other teachers because I vividly remember that year,” he said of students being greeted with a handshake at the door.

Martinez said he was not always the easiest student to teach, but Talarico made an effort to connect with him and find common ground.

“If there was a problem, he carried himself extremely well to say, let’s chat about it and let’s find a solution,” Martinez said. “There’s always ground for you to make up. But how you go about it is going to be up for conversation.”

Martinez said Talarico’s teaching style helped students feel heard. He said Talarico encouraged conversations and helped students understand perspectives different from their own.

Even after Talarico left Rhodes Middle School to attend Harvard, Martinez said he kept a promise to return for the students’ eighth-grade graduation.

“It was one of those things where he told us like, look, yes, I’m leaving Rhodes, but I will make sure to be at your graduation,” he said. “And, you know, it’s one of those where it’s like, sure, maybe we’ll see. And straight off, come eighth-grade ceremony, he was there.”

Martinez said he and other students and teachers could see then that Talarico had the potential to become a political leader.

Years later, Martinez was there as Talarico took another step in public life, introducing his former teacher during a major campaign moment.

For Martinez, the election night introduction was more than a political appearance. It was a chance to recognize the teacher who, he said, made a lasting impression on him and many others at Rhodes Middle School.

“You know, when I look at the relationship and the friendship that I’ve established with him, and thinking back to when I was an 11-year-old boy to now a full-on adult and looking at him, you know, I thought, man, like this guy’s really come a long way and I can’t believe that he was my English teacher,” he said. “Even in middle school, I had lunch with him from time to time. Like, I’ll never forget one time he actually bought me McDonald’s and we sat down during lunch at Rhodes Middle School with two other peers of mine. And I vividly remember that moment.

Talarico’s former students say his work in the classroom continues to shape how they view leadership, service and the power of listening.

“His ability to be able to shift the tide at wherever he goes, even at, you know, all started at a middle school, you know being able to impact a bunch of teachers, educators, their students there,” Martinez said. “I think he’s gonna do amazing things there and I would not be surprised if he just keeps soaring through and figures out what his next calling is in the political world.”