Los Angeles high-school teacher Jaime Escalante leads a street punk and his classmates into calculus.

Stand and deliver (side A): Look at the too-cool-to-cope kids in Jamie Escalante's class at East L.A.'s tough Garfield High and many will say they see a bunch of losers. Escalante sees scholars. He cajoles, instructs, challenges and inspires his no-expectations barrio kids to pass the daunting Calculus Advanced Placement Test. Lean on me (side B): A bat-and-bullhorn-toting Principle Joe Clark, whose controversial methods turned the failing school...