Educator Jaime Escalante Being Honored in Postage Stamp

*Is this cool, or what? Every year a committee named by the Postmaster General considers tens of thousands of suggestions for the postal stamp honor. This year the massive number was whittled down to nine and Escalante made the deserving cut. VL

By Brian Latimer, NBC News

The late educator Jaime Escalante, whose work with inner-city students was the subject of a 1988 film, is being honored with a postage stamp this year.

Escalante, who died in 2010, was portrayed in the film “Stand and Deliver” by actor Edward James Olmos.

According to Roy Betts, a spokesman for USPS, the committee vets tens of thousands of suggestions every year. He said Escalante’s legacy in Los Angeles makes him an ideal candidate.

“He is, without question, a very deserving subject,” Betts said. “The legendary educator is well-known for academic excellence and working with inner-city youth to help them master calculus.”

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