Teacher Appreciation Week: Jaime Escalante

Jaime Escalante was a teacher fed up with the status quo at East Los Angeles Garfield High School. He required his students to answer a homework question before he would let them in the classroom. He was threatened with dismissal by his administration because he came in too early, left too late and failed to get permission to raise funds to pay for his students' Advanced Placement tests--tests that they did so well at that an investigation was launched because no one could believe that these kids were able to achieve the scores they did coming from where they were coming from. According to him, "The key to my success with youngsters is a very simple and time- honored tradition: hard work for teacher and student alike." In 1988 the film Stand and Deliver was made to tell the story of this extraordinary teacher and his students.

Books about Escalante:

Jaime Escalante: Inspirational Math Teacher by Anne E. Schraff


Jaime Escalante: Sensational Teacher by Ann Byers