Garfield Students, Teachers Honor Jaime Escalante

East Los Angeles - Students and staff at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles attended a flag-raising ceremony today honoring calculus teacher Jaime Escalante, who taught at the school for 17 years and died earlier this week of bladder cancer.

The brief ceremony held starting 7 a.m. involved the school's junior ROTC contingent, band and drill team. The national anthem was played as the flag was raised before the start of classes.

Escalante, whose efforts inspired the 19-88 film "Stand and Deliver," died Tuesday of bladder cancer at the age of 79.

The Los Angeles Unified School District announced Wednesday that the auditorium under construction at Garfield High will be named after Escalante.

"Jaime Escalante was more than a great teacher. He was a great visionary who saw in his students their potential for greatness, and used his gift as an educator to help them realize they could soar academically," said Los Angeles Unified School District board member Yolie Flores.

The auditorium, which was built in 1925, was destroyed in an arson fire in 2007. Construction is under way on a replacement building, which will include theater facilities and a dance studio. It is expected to be completed in 2012.

"Inspiring, challenging and unyielding, he (Escalante) did more than teach calculus. He changed lives," LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said.

President Barack Obama issued a statement Wednesday praising Escalante's work.

"While most of us got to know him through the movie that depicted his work teaching inner-city students calculus, the students whose lives he changed remain the true testament to his life's work," Obama said.

"Throughout his career, Jaime opened the doors of success and higher education for his students one by one, and proved that where a person came from did not have to determine how far they could go.

"He instilled knowledge in his students, but more importantly he helped them find the passion and the will to fulfill their potential. Jaime's story became famous. But he represented countless valiant teachers throughout our country whose great works are known only to the young people whose lives they change."