PHOTOS: A legendary math teacher’s struggle
Doctors recently told Escalante that he has only weeks -- a few months at best -- to live. But don’t let the frail man fool you. The teacher is not done teaching. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
More than a dozen medications are the centerpiece of Jaime Escalante’s dinner table in Reno. The charismatic former Garfield High School math teacher, 79, whom a colleague described as a “rocket” and who was the inspiration for the popular feature film “Stand and Deliver,” is now frail, almost deaf and unable to speak above a whisper. He takes an array of supplements daily to battle cancer. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Escalante, center, listens to his former math colleague Angelo Villavicencio, right, at the Century Wellness Clinic in Reno. His son, Jaime Escalante II, left, brought the retired teacher here for cancer treatment. The mountains outside remind him of his native Bolivia. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Villavicencio, left, embraces Escalante, his friend and fomer colleague. Twenty-two years have passed since Escalante’s teaching exploits were captured in “Stand and Deliver.” (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
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After a full day of caregiving, Jaime Escalante II wipes his brow as his father sips dinner in his Reno apartment. When word of Escalante’s condition spread last week, his former students rallied. Many had not spoken in years, but they tracked one another down and gathered at a Garfield event to raise money for their teacher. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Jaime Escalante II, left, keeps a caring eye on his cancer-stricken father. After Escalante’s story was captured on film, he welcomed celebrities to his classroom, along with curious educators from around the country. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Roy Márquez, a former student of Escalante at Garfield High, teaches a computer programming class at the East Los Angeles school. “All these years he’s never been out of my mind,” said another former student, an architect living in Los Angeles. “His presence was always felt.” (Christina House / For The Times)
A student looks at a sign marking the classroom where Escalante once taught at Garfield. (Christina House / For The Times)
