Besides calculus, Garfield added sixteen AP courses in other fields, and many of the teachers in the program feel that the intellectual ability in their school could have remained untapped had Escalante not served as a catalyst. The changes at Garfield were not only among the elite students, however; the dropout rate, which was 55 percent in , dropped to only 14 percent by Fully 75 percent of Garfield's graduating seniors planned to go on to some type of postsecondary instruction.
Escalante emerged from the s as a national figure—praised by President Reagan on a special visit to the White House, and singled out by Vice President Bush as a personal hero during one of his presidential campaign debates.
During a decade with seemingly conflicting educational goals—excellence and inclusion—Escalante served as a model of a teacher who could achieve both. In Escalante moved on to other challenges, including teaching basic math and algebra at Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento, California.
In , his largest class of students took and passed an advanced placement test in Calculus. Some of the students' test scores were invalidated by the testing company because it believed that the students had cheated. Escalante protested, saying that the students had been disqualified because they were Hispanic and from a poor school. A few months later many of the students retook the test and passed, proving that they knew the material and that the company was wrong.
Escalante's classroom challenges and successes were the topic of much public discussion in Both educators and students have found Escalante's work at Garfield inspiring.
After Garfield, Escalante taught at another high school in Sacramento. He did not seem to find the same level of success that he had at his previous post. Escalante also received some criticism for lobbying against bilingual education in California schools. Bush is wearing a jacket presented to him by Escalante. Douglas C. He used pinwheels, music, even toilet paper in his teaching. Jaime Escalante appeared at a ceremony honoring his inclusion on the Latino Walk of Fame in April Savoring their reunion, Escalante and former student Jema Leyva pose for another Garfield math class alumnus, Armando Lopez.
George W. Bush, then a presidential candidate, is introduced by Jaime Escalante, right, during a leadership forum at Charles E. Mack School in Sacramento in Escalante briefly considered becoming an education advisor to Bush after he was elected president.
Secretary of Education Rod Paige, left, meets with Escalante. Jaime Escalante, flanked by his son Jaime Jr. By Elaine Woo. Passionate teacher Escalante was a maverick who did not get along with many of his public school colleagues, but he mesmerized students with his entertaining style and deep understanding of math. Motivating students But Escalante stayed, soon developing a reputation for turning around hard-to-motivate students. But in , seven of nine students passed the exam; in , 14 of 15 passed.
In , he had 18 students to prepare for the academic challenge of their young lives. But the good news quickly turned bad. Testing controversy The Educational Testing Service, which administers the exam, said it had found suspicious similarities in the solutions given on 14 exams. He headed to Hiram Johnson High with the intention of testing his methods in a new environment.
Return to Bolivia Thirty-five years after leaving Bolivia for his journey into teaching fame, Escalante went home. He returned to the United States frequently to visit his son and give motivational speeches. Lopez contributed to this report. Elaine Woo. More From the Los Angeles Times. Music Moody Blues drummer and co-founder Graeme Edge dies at Escalante's unorthodox teaching style motivated hundreds of students to sacrifice their free time and other activities to study for the Advanced Placement math test.
His high success rate led to national acclaim, as well as external funding for his educational programs. His story became the subject of a Hollywood film titled Stand and Deliver.
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