And so it goes as the GOOD move on..
RIP.. Jaime Escalante
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Teacher who inspired 'Stand and Deliver' film dies in Reno
BY VICTOR CALDERON • March 30, 2010
The math teacher who inspired the 1988 film “Stand and Deliver” was remembered Tuesday as an ongoing inspiration for educators and students everywhere by the head of a regional youth education non-profit in Reno.
, who taught at a tough East Los Angeles high school, died Tuesday in Reno, where he was undergoing treatment for bladder cancer, a family friend told The Associated Press. Escalante was 79.
Officials at Renown Regional Medical Center confirmed Tuesday that he had been discharged but declined to provide further details.
“He saw in every student an opportunity to excel no matter where they came from,” said executive director Jonathan Mueller of Sierra Nevada Journeys, which has offices in Reno, Sacramento and Portola, Calif. “That inspired us to help students.”
The organization, which serves students and teachers in Nevada and California, held the Escalante Exceptional Educator Reception in Reno on March 16, raising several hundred dollars for Escalante, Mueller said.
Local educators had heard the well-known teacher was receiving treatment in Reno and had been in contact with Escalante’s foundation and actor Edward James Olmos, who played Escalante in the film.
An immigrant from Bolivia, Escalante transformed Garfield High School by motivating struggling students to tackle and excel at advanced math and science. The school had more Advanced Placement calculus students than all but three other public high schools in the country.
Olmos said Escalante proved that inner city students can perform at the highest levels, and left an important legacy for American education.
rgj.com
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