Title: Jamie Escalante - Movie, Teacher & Students - Biography
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Jaime Escalante
Who Was Jaime Escalante?
Early Life
Professional Career
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Content: Early Life
Educator Jamie Escalante was born on December 31, 1930, in La Paz, Bolivia. The child of two teachers, Escalante became one of the most famous educators in America during the 1980s and 1990s. He left Bolivia in the 1960s to seek a better life in the United States. An educator back at home, he had to work many odd jobs, teach himself English and earn another college degree before he could return to the classroom. Professional Career
In 1974, Escalante took a job at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California. He found himself in a challenging situation: teaching math to troubled students in a rundown school known for violence and drugs. While some had dismissed the students as "unteachable," Escalante strove to reach his students and to get them to live up to their potential. He started an advanced mathematics program with a handful of students. In 1982, his largest class of students took and passed an advanced placement test in Calculus.