The longtime high school Spanish teacher, tennis coach and assistant football coach — who graduated from MHS himself in 1998 — has become a near-ubiquitous presence over his nearly two decades in education since he started at Woodbury Elementary all the way back in 2003. Many a Bobcat parent and student has a positive story to tell about him, including the T-R’s own Sam Smith, who recalled the way he coached up her son Luke during a match at Des Moines Lincoln when he was playing “some of the worst tennis of his career.”

Recently, Christensen was recognized with the WHO-13 News and IMT Insurance “Golden Apple” award, which is presented to one Iowa teacher a month throughout each school year. Beka Bell, who student taught under Christensen and will subsequently be joining the MCSD full-time in the fall, nominated him.

“It’s nice to be recognized, but honestly, my first immediate thoughts were ‘Man, there are just so many more deserving teachers at this high school,'” he said. “I’m not even the best teacher in my family. My wife is a phenomenal teacher.”

His aforementioned spouse, Angela, teaches Title I at St. Francis Catholic School and previously taught at Franklin Elementary School, and James has also relished the opportunity to learn from his mentor in the Spanish department, Tonia Emerson. He’s quick to admit, however, that education wasn’t his first career choice coming out of high school.

Christensen got to pose for a picture with his entire family at the MHS Roundhouse after receiving the award.

When Christensen enrolled at the University of Iowa, he had plans to become an ophthalmologist due to his experience having eye surgeries as a child, but he had a change of heart and ultimately ended up transferring to UNI to complete his degree in German and Spanish Education and falling in love with teaching in the process.

He then spent a year coordinating after school activities at Woodbury and Anson and a year teaching second and third grade at Woodbury before accepting his current position at the high school in 2005. Referencing a recent T-R story about MHS Class of 2008 graduate Tyler Peschong, Christensen said one of the highlights of his career has been watching former students return to the community and make an impact.

“Some people will take Spanish for a couple years, and five years down the road, they may or may not remember a whole lot. But I hope the life lessons they learned at the high school, hopefully they stick around,” he said.

Teaching Spanish in a district where so many of the students already speak it has forced Christensen to get creative and offer a variety of classes because when he first started almost two decades ago, most were learning it for the first time. There are now three different tracks at the high school, including Heritage Spanish with Kristin Stuchis, which is aimed at students who speak it at home with their parents, a dual-language program with Charlotte Santana, and the kids learning the basics who are in Christensen’s classes.

“You do see a little bit of difference with kids growing up with friends that maybe speak Spanish, playing with them on soccer teams or basketball teams or whatever. A lot of kids will come in with a little bit of competency in some areas that they may not have 20 years ago,” he said.

Christensen’s impact on Marshalltown students goes beyond the classroom. He’s built quite a reputation as a coach, and he’s the kind of guy kids just want to play for, whether they win, lose or draw. As MHS Principal Jacque Wyant put it, Christensen is always in teaching mode: teaching skills in tennis and football, teaching character and teaching boys to become men, and Superintendent Theron Schutte expressed a similar sentiment.

“There is no question that he is a tremendous relationship builder devoting significant time with our young Bobcats at an early age, via the Bobcat Tennis Academy he runs in the summer. He builds trust, respect and confidence with those he instructs and this creates a positive culture for which students want to continue to be a part of whether it be in the classroom, courts or field,” Schutte said. “When not coaching, he can often be found spectating and supporting our student athletes and coaches of other sports, clubs, activities, etc. We couldn’t be more proud of him being chosen as a Golden Apple Recipient.”

The tennis team Christensen leads, in particular, has enjoyed great success in recent years, but according to MHS Activities Director Ryan Isgrig, those results only tell part of the story.

“Coach Christensen’s impact as a coach extends far beyond our recent track record of state tournament success. He has the ability to foster positive relationships with his student-athletes and impart valuable life lessons to them along the way,” Isgrig said. “By making tennis enjoyable, he instills in his students a belief in their own abilities to compete or win anytime they step on the court. His approach not only produces skilled athletes, but also well-rounded individuals who are equipped with the confidence and drive to achieve success both on and off the court.”

While he’s occasionally had opportunities to move on to other districts, Christensen, who just watched his oldest son Nile receive his diploma in the Roundhouse on May 28, struggles to see himself as anything other than a Bobcat.

“It’s kind of (been) part of who I am for quite a long time, and I feel connected to the town here and the kids,” he said. “I’m at that age, which is kind of scary, where I’m starting to have kids of kids (I’ve had in class). That’s kind of wild to see, but it’s cool as well. When you get to see that generational impact, it’s pretty fun.”

With all of the distractions and challenges the modern world presents, Christensen is well aware that keeping a kid’s attention for 90 minutes can be a daunting task, but he tries his best to find things they enjoy on a daily basis that are also educational.

“That would be my biggest piece of advice. Keep everybody interacting and smiling and having a good time,” he said.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.