Jaime Escalante Memorial

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It was just after 7 a.m., too early for music some would say, but the Garfield High school band, dressed in dark blue, red, and white uniforms was in the school courtyard playing away nonetheless.
It was just one way the school honored former calculus teacher Jaime Escalante, who inspired the movie Stand and Deliver. But Escalante also inspired people like former Garfield High student Sonia Santana.
If I could be 1/100th as inspiring as he was, then Ive done a good job, said Santana, who credits Escalante and other teachers at Garfield High for helping her get into USC after attending Garfield High.
At the memorial the schools ROTC marched in honor of Escalante, and former students spoke about the man best known for helping build a successful calculus program at the school. He also helped dispel the notion that students from underprivileged neighborhoods could not tackle challenging material, says Vanessa Marquez.
He proved to the city, to the school, to the state, to the country that these kids are teachable, that any child is teachable.
Marquez didnt go to Garfield High, but she did play the role of Anna Delgado in Stand and Deliver. To prepare for her role though, she spent time in the classroom, watching Escalante teach.
For four years I had just been told I did not have the aptitude for math, said Marquez, who grew up only a mile away from Garfield High. I had been thrown out of every class in high school. But as I sat in his calculus class, I understood what he was teaching, and it just blew my mind.
Escalantes students have gone on to be surgeons, Harvard, professors, and engineers. And many of his former students have gone on to teach. Jose Huerta was a student teacher under Escalante, who says Escalante helped confirm in him his desire to be a teacher one day.
When I saw him in action I thought, you know what, this is amazing. Just watching the kids connecting with him. It was magic, it was magical.
Huerta has since left teaching, but for a good reason. He is now trying to work a little magic of his own as the principal of Garfield High School.