Auditorium to be Named After Beloved Math Teacher
Garfield High School ‘Bulldogs’ pay tribute to Jaime Escalante, plan scholarship fund in his honor.
By EGP Wire Service
The soon to be rebuilt Garfield High School Auditorium will be renamed in honor of the school’s most famous teacher, Jaime Escalante, the LAUSD School Board announced on Wednesday.
The former Garfield High School teacher immortalized in the 1988 film “Stand and Deliver” died Tuesday of cancer. He was 79.
“Jaime Escalante was more than a great teacher. He was a great visionary who saw in his students their potential for greatness, and used his gift as an educator to help them realize they could soar academically,” said Board of Education Vice President Yolie Flores in a statement released by the school district.
Escalante passed away from coronary and respiratory failure, precipitated by cancer. He died surrounded by his family in the Roseville, Calif., home of his son Jaime Jr., actor Edward James Olmos, said in a statement released by the Latino Print Network. Olmos portrayed Escalante in “Stand and Deliver.”
Garfield students and staff planned to meet early this morning before school for a public tribute to Escalante. The high school’s ROTC, student leaders, band, drill and alumni planned to stand in front of the school and commemorate his legacy, the school’s principal Jose Huerta told EGP.
Escalante taught at the eastside area school for 17 years and is credited with building the Advanced Placement calculus program at the school.
Word of his passing spread quickly Tuesday, prompting condolences for his family and accolades from officials in
