The students' sacrifice.

In the play, Stand and Deliver, we see the sacrifice of Jaime Escalante's students who took extra time out of their already busy schedule to prepare for the AP Calculus Exam.  Just like those students, the cast and crew of the show are sacrificing their time and energy on top of their already busy college schedules in order to help make this show as spectacular as possible.  The rehearsal schedule for the show has been rigorous but students are expected to stay on top of their coursework.  I am so impressed by the commitment the students are making to the show - many of whom have never been in a play before and may not have known what they were signing themselves up for.  In addition to memorizing their lines, the cast has also had to learn choreography for a number of dance routines in the show.  Please come support the cast and celebrate the hard work they have put into the show!!

Do the math.

This play is about math - but not just in subject, in theme as well.  Of course, more obviously the play is about math because it is about Jaime Escalante teaching his students Advanced Calculus.  But it is also about the math and numbers of the students' lives in the play.  It is about the number of years of hard work and hard labor their parents did so that their kids could have opportunities that they themselves did not have.  It is about the number of students who will never graduate from a school like Garfield High School.  It is about the number of hours the students will have to work in order to succeed in their challenging math class - on top of the hours that they devote to activities like working in their parents' restaurant.  Escalante wants his students to understand his math - and the students want him to understand theirs.  Escalante wants the students to respect him and they want him to respect them.  Throughout the course of the play, as I am sure was the case in the real life story the play is inspired by, Escalante and the students learn to respect and trust each other.  By showing the students that he trusts them enough to do better they become more inclined to do better - better for him but  more importantly better for themselves.  Come see how the numbers play out in this exciting production at Pomona College. 

Garfield High School

Garfield High School
Jaime Escalante arrived to teach computer science
at Garfield High School in 1974. There was only one problem. The school had no computers. The equipment had been stolen and there was no money to replace it. Though the school was surrounded by a tall chain link fence to keep students from ditching classes, it had become the local gathering place for neighborhood teenagers, some in gangs, most just just wanting a place to meet and hang out. Past and current students loitered on the lawns, dropouts and kids without jobs flirting, talking, and distracting students from classes. Most students and their teachers saw their classes as
a temporary place to spend time between part time jobs. Many of the teachers had second jobs and spent their time at school promoting their other interests. Nobody arrived early and nobody stayed late.

Turning Garfield Around
Hard work and discipline were Escalante’s heart and soul. When Garfield asked him to teach math instead of computer science he agreed. While a tough new school principal cleared out the school yard and instituted rules, Escalante put in place
a set of rules for the students in his classes. The students were lively and accustomed to fooling around in class,skipping homework, and arriving to class late. Escalante had zero tolerance for tardiness, absences, and would banish a student from class if he caught them marking up their textbooks. Missing even one homework assignment was a serious infraction.
Determination +
Discipline +
Hard Work=
The Way to Success
Garfield students came from poor families and few of their parents had graduated or even attended high school. The emphasis for their children was work to help support the family. School was not a priority for many Garfield students and they often worked long hours and arrived at school tired from no sleep.
For someone like Jaime Escalante however, this was no excuse. He had worked hard—twice—for his education and he did not allow his students to use work as an excuse to avoid homework.
He worked to convince students that not only could they learn the Math he was teaching them, but they could excel at it and it could be the key to their future. He convinced the administration to let him teach Calculus and to prepare the students for the Advanced Placement Exam.

In fact, the school was so bad that the Downtown administrators of the Los Angeles Unified School District were discussing taking away Garfield’s accreditation and closing the school. 

Who was
Jaime Escalante?
Escalante was an immigrant from Bolivia. He was an experienced teacher there who had to start all over
with his education when he came to America. He spent years working as a janitor and a busboy to support his family while he learned English and then worked on earning his undergraduate degree and his teaching credential. Hard work was something he was used to: in Bolivia he had worked three teaching jobs at the same time, teaching days, nights, and often on weekends. 

Alma and actors (left to right: Adam Faison, Rebekah Vermillion and Harrison Goodall) rehearse the scene where Escalante defends his students to the Educational Testing Services investigators.  It is a tense and exciting scene!!!

Alma gives pointers (literally) to her cast (foreground left to right: Adam Faison, Sneha Bathina and Diana Otuwa).

Choreographer and Assistant Director Kim Gadlingiving directions to her dancers!