Free Republic

Superintendents Paint Dire Picture If California's Prop. 30 Fails As Gov. Jerry Brown's revenue-raising proposition loses support, school superintendents say class sizes could grow, cherished programs could die and jobs will be lost. What we face is the biggest challenge in public education since the state of California was founded," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times October 26 As children peered at them through an elementary school fence in Cerritos on Friday, about a dozen school superintendents explained the consequences they will face if California voters fail to approve Proposition 30. In...

It is with great sadness, heavy heart, and moist eyes that I pass on the news to you that Jaime Escalante died today in Reno, Nevada while undergoing cancer treatment. Escalante has been one of my heroes since my days covering education in Los Angeles for the LA Daily News in the early 1990s. He was 79.

It was a typical quiet morning on April 22, with the temperature intensifying as a bright orange sun emerged high from the horizon. Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, RCT-1, were standing post, just as they’ve done numerous times before. During a standard length watch in a small checkpoint protected by concrete barriers where they overlooked the small gravel road, lined with palm trees leading to their entry control point. However, this morning would be different. Quickly...

Drug Czar Favors Testing Teens If school boards institute random drug testing in the public schools, the use of illegal drugs among teens would be sharply reduced, said John Walters, the director of National Drug Control Policy. President Bush's drug czar has called for catching alcohol and drug abuse early in the teen population, particularly by instituting random drug testing. Random drug screening is an effective measure that local school boards should consider adopting, said John Walters, addressing the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors on Friday in Bal Harbour. "[Random drug testing in public high schools]...

'Stand And Deliver' Teacher Signs Up With Arnold LOS ANGELES -- The teacher made famous by the movie "Stand and Deliver" has signed up with Arnold Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial-recall election campaign as an educational adviser. One the same day that the state's AFL-CIO union agreed to endorse Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's "No on Recall, Yes on Bustamante" strategy, Schwarzenegger campaign picked up one of its own. The Los Angeles Times reported that Jaime Escalante, the East Los Angeles calculus teacher whose ability to turn poor teenagers into top students inspired the movie, has agreed to advise Schwarzenegger on education issues. There...

California Gubernatorial Candidate Arnold Schwartzenegger has tapped 72 year old Compton, Ca. Advanced Placement Calculus teacher Jamie Escalante to advise him on education issues.Mr. Escalante is known for the 1987 film 'Stand and Deliver' which details his career teaching college math to East Los Angeles High School students.

July 2002 Stand and Deliver Revisited The untold story behind the famous rise -- and shameful fall -- of Jaime Escalante, America’s master math teacher. By Jerry Jesness Thanks to the popular 1988 movie Stand and Deliver, many Americans know of the success that Jaime Escalante and his students enjoyed at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. During the 1980s, that exceptional teacher at a poor public school built a calculus program rivaled by only a handful of exclusive academies.It is less well-known that Escalante left Garfield after problems with colleagues and administrators, and that his calculus program...