Retired Mathematics Teacher
Granite Bay, California
Total years as a classroom teacher 33 (24 years in the USA, 9years in Bolivia)

Jaime Escalante was born in La Paz, Bolivia, to two teachers who worked in a small Aymara Indian village. After 9 years of teaching in Bolivia, Escalante moved to the United States and worked as a busboy, a cook, and an electronics factory technician while earning teaching credentials and a degree in mathematics.

He is the host of an instructional television series on PBS, "Futures,"which introduces students to a variety of math and science-based careers. It is the most popular classroom program in the history of PBS and has been honored with more than 50 awards from educational and professional organizations, including the highest honor in the broadcasting field, the George Foster Peabody Award.

A 1988 book, "Escalante: The Best Teacher in America," provided an account of his life. The 1988 film, "Stand and Deliver," illustrated his 1982 struggle. His students tested so high in the rigorous Advanced Placement exams that they were suspected of cheating by the Educational Testing Service, which didn't believe that poor barrio students had the ability to pass any college- level test.

He believes in helping students find in themselves ganas, a desire that must emerge from within, which allows them to overcome all barriers.

"Today, I continue to enjoy successes which I can attribute to one powerful lesson I learned from Mr. Escalante: 'You can do anything you want to, its easy, the hardest part is that you have to believe you can do it, the rest is a piece of cake.'" --Steve Robles, former student, vice president, La Curacao

"What is most remarkable about Jaime is that even as his 'fame' grew, he never lost sight of his underlying purpose: working to have children believe in their ability to achieve at the highest levels and providing them with the instruction they needed to succeed." --Rudolph F. Crew, Chancellor, Board of Education of the City of New York