Math Teacher Libra Academy Los Angeles Unified School District Huntington Park, California
Orlando grew up in Huntington Park, located just south of Los Angeles and attended local schools surrounded by guns, drugs and gangs. Thanks to a very supportive family, Orlando was able to graduate from Huntington Park High School and was accepted to Santa Clara University where he earned his Bachelors of Science in Mathematics with a Minor in Spanish. Orlando returned to southern California, enrolled in California State University, Dominguez Hills and earned his California State Teaching Credential in Mathematics. Following his graduation, Orland was hired at his alma mater, Huntington Park High School, where he expanded the AP Calculus Program and his student consistently achieved the highest AP exam passing rate within the local district. During this time, Orlando was also an Instructor in the Jaime Escalante Math Program at East Los Angeles College, teaching Geometry, Math Analysis and Trigonometry. In 2011, Orlando was selected as a Mathematics teacher at the Libra Academy at Linda Marquez High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District with the expressed purpose to develop the AP Calculus program. In 2014 Orlando took it upon himself to develop a tutorial program for 10th graders to help them pass the California High School Exit Exam and increase their chances of high school graduation. In its first year of operation, 86% of the students passed the exam, which was the highest rate of passing in the local area schools. Orlando serves as President of the LIBRA Academy Governing Board, leading teachers and staff to assist in the formation of policy and and guide the direction of the Academy. In addition, he is the lead teacher for the Senior Advisory Program, leads the school’s Attendance Committee, is the Senior Class Sponsor and the Sponsor of the Environmental Club. -Published 2015
