In the opening scene of the film, in which “Jaime Escalante” reports for his first day of work as a teacher at Garfield High School, a title card reads: “Based on a true story.” In the closing scene, the following written statements are superimposed over an image of Escalante walking down the school’s hallway: “In 1982 Garfield H.S. had 18 students pass the A.P. Calculus Exam”; “In 1983 Garfield H.S. had 31 students pass the A.P. Calculus Exam”; “In 1984 Garfield H.S. had 63 students pass the A.P. Calculus Exam”; “In 1985 Garfield H.S. had 77 students pass the A.P. Calculus Exam”; “In 1986 Garfield H.S. had 78 students pass the A.P. Calculus Exam”; “In 1987 Garfield H.S. had 87 students pass the A.P. Calculus Exam.”
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, writer Tom Musca spent time observing Jaime Escalante teaching at Garfield High School in preparation for writing the script.
       The film was originally titled Walking on Water, as noted in several contemporary sources, including the 12 Feb 1988 HR review, and screened under that title at the Mill Valley Film Festival in Oct 1987. According to a 17 Mar 1988 HR “Hollywood Report” column, Warner Bros. changed the title to Stand and Deliver after acquiring distribution rights, also adding the song “Stand and Deliver” by Mr. Mister to end credits.
       Writer-director Ramon Menendez first became interested in Jaime Escalante’s story after reading an LAT article about the controversial re-testing of Escalante’s calculus students. Menendez gave the article to his writing partner and fellow graduate of UCLA Film School, Tom Musca. After convincing Escalante to option the rights to his story for one dollar, Menendez and Musca took the project to independent producers and television networks for financing. After several rejections, they received development money from American Playhouse at PBS, which provided $500,000 in partial funding in exchange for PBS licensing rights, as noted in a 27 Nov 1987 LA Weekly article. Other financiers included the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Arco, the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Atlantic Richfield, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
       As stated in production notes, actor Edward James Olmos first met Escalante at a NAACP awards ceremony where Olmos was honored for humanitarian work in the arts and Escalante was honored for education. Years later, Olmos’s lawyer sent him a newspaper clipping about Escalante, suggesting that the story would make a good film. Before Olmos had time to consider developing the project himself, Menendez and Musca reached out to him to star. Olmos, who was living in Miami, FL, and working as a series regular on Miami Vice (NBC, 16 Sep 1984--26 Jul 1989) at the time, prepared for the role by studying videotapes of Escalante in the classroom and speaking to him over the phone regularly. According to a 14 Mar 1988 Newsweek article, the actor gained forty pounds, had his hair cosmetically thinned and, six weeks before principal photography began, he came to Los Angeles to shadow Escalante for eighteen hours a day and live in his home, as stated in a 9 Mar 1988 LAHExam article. Olmos also requested that Escalante be present on set at all times, as he planned to mirror his subject as exactly as possible. In reference to the script, Escalante claimed the film was ninety-percent accurate, as noted in the 24 Mar 1988 Christian Science Monitor, with only small details changed and some characters composited.
       For the role of “Angel,” Olmos suggested actor Lou Diamond Phillips after working with him on Miami Vice. Menendez and Musca watched an advance copy of La Bamba (1987), in which Phillips played Latino singer Ritchie Valens, before casting him. In preparation for his role, Phillips was aided by production assistant Daniel Villareal, an East Los Angeles native who showed him around the inner city and relayed stories from his high school days. When Menendez took notice of Villareal on set, the P.A. was cast as Angel’s gang-leader friend, “Chuco.”
       Principal photography began 1 Apr 1987, as noted in 28 Apr 1987 HR production charts. The six-week non-union shoot took place primarily in East Los Angeles, where Garfield High School stood in for itself. The production budget was $1.35 million, according to a 19 Jun 1988 LAT news brief.
       After screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival, the film garnered attention from several major studios, including Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Paramount, Fox, and Disney. According to the 27 Nov 1987 LA Weekly, filmmakers made an agreement with Warner Bros. based on the studio’s genuine interest in the project and such previous “long-shot successes,” such as 1981’s Chariots of Fire and 1984’s The Killing Fields. Although the 19 Jun 1988 LAT stated that Warner Bros. acquired worldwide distribution rights for $3.5 million, other contemporary sources, including the 17 Feb 1988 Var review, cited the figure as $5 million. As of mid-Jun 1988, LAT reported that promotional costs had amounted to $6.5 million
       A benefit premiere was held 26 Feb 1988 at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA, with proceeds going toward the Jaime Escalante Calculus Program and Garfield High School Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, according to a 25 Feb 1988 DV news item. When the film opened 11 Mar 1988 in Los Angeles on only thirty screens, it grossed $411,884, taking in an impressive per screen average of $13,729, as stated in the 17 Mar 1988 HR. One week later, Stand and Deliver was released on twenty-nine screens in New York City, and on 1 Apr 1988, the release expanded to 362 screens in Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA; Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma. According to HR, a wider release would take place 15 Apr 1988, on 750 screens across the U.S.
       Critical reception was largely positive. Calling it a “gutty little underdog film,” HR singled out the performances by Olmos, Phillips, and Will Gotay, who played “Pancho.” Olmos was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, and Lou Diamond Phillips was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. As announced in the 27 Mar 1989 LAT, the film won six out of ten Independent Spirit Awards, including: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Male Lead (Olmos), Best Supporting Male (Phillips), and Best Supporting Female (Rosana De Soto).
       Due to the popularity of Stand and Deliver, Garfield High School officials claimed Escalante’s class suffered a “worrisome drop” in test scores in 1988, as Escalante was overextended with promoting the film and classroom visits from high-profile figures including then Vice President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, according to a 22 Feb 1990 LAT article. Over time, Escalante butted heads with the school over his increasingly “oversubscribed” calculus classes and jealousy from other teachers, as noted in the teacher’s 1 Apr 2010 NYT obituary, and eventually left in 1991, taking another high school teaching position in Sacramento, CA.
       A 28 Mar 1989 HR news brief reported that on 15 Mar 1989, the film aired on Los Angeles public television station KCET during a pledge drive and became the station’s “highest-rated pledge special and…second highest-rated program in station history,” to that time. The broadcast helped raise $162,562 for KCET and earned a 10.3 Nielsen rating.
       Citing “breach of contract and conspiracy regarding his contract,” actor James Victor, who played “Ana’s father,” sued the film’s producers for $3 million and sought an injunction against theatrical release, as noted in a 9 Mar 1988 HR news brief. Although Victor claimed the producers owed him “front-end credits,” a Superior Court judge refused to hear his case and denied the injunction request.
       End credits include the following statements: “This film was made possible by grants from Arco, The National Science Foundation, The Ford Foundation and produced in association with American Playhouse® and KCET, Los Angeles, with funds from Public Television Stations, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies”; “This film would not have been possible without the cooperation of the following: Garfield High School, East Los Angeles; The Los Angeles Unified School District; The East Los Angeles Gang Violence Reduction Center; The Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey”; “Special Thanks: The Escalante Family; Larry Bershon; Phylis Geller; Henry Gradillas; Henry Ramos; Elizabeth Martin; Caren A. Grown; Al Galvadon; Ben Saiz; The LaVoy Johnson Family; Steve Ostro; KMEX; KALI; the Garfield A.P. Class of 1982 and the people of East Los Angeles”; “Promotional consideration supplied by Pepsi-Cola Company”; and, “Dedicated to the memory of: Chantica Camejo, 1971-1987; Martin Olvera, 1964-1987.”