Stand and Deliver is a 1988 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Ramón Menéndez, written by Menéndez and Tom Musca. It is based on the true story of Garfield High School mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante, who inspired 18 Latino students to pass the Advanced Placement Calculus in 1982. The film's title refers to Mr. Mister's 1987 song "Stand and Deliver", which is also featured in the film's ending credits.

Plot

In the early 1980s, Jaime Escalante becomes a mathematics teacher at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. Latino students from working-class families have academic achievement far below their grade level. Two students, Angel and another gangster, arrive late and question Escalante's authority. Escalante demonstrates how to multiply numbers using one's fingers and appeals to the students' sense of humor. After class, some gangsters threaten Escalante. After school, he stops the gangsters from fighting. He introduces himself as a "one-man gang" with the classroom as his domain. Escalante decides to teach the students algebra.