Assistant Principal
Griffith Steam Magnet Middle School
Educator of the Month
It is with great pleasure that Great Minds in STEM extends our sincerest congratulations to Mr. Joel A. Escobar for his well-deserved recognition as Educator of the Month. Mr. Escobar’s academic journey began in the Union Pico area, where he lived until the third grade, after which he moved with his family to Boyle Heights. He attended Hollenbeck Middle School and Roosevelt High School, where he developed a strong foundation in education. Mr. Escobar went on to pursue a Master/Administrative Credential at Cal State LA and Concordia University, with a view to becoming an educator. With 36 years of experience in the field of education, Mr. Escobar currently serves as the assistant principal at Griffith Steam Magnet Middle School.
At Great Minds in STEM, we firmly believe that education is the foundation of success for students, which is why we recognize our top educators who have inspired the next generation of STEM students. Mr. Escobar, for instance, was motivated to pursue a career in teaching by his first, second, and third-grade teacher, Ms. Jonnie. As a young student, Mr. Escobar faced challenges with writing due to English being his second language, and he was often advised to improve his writing skills. Despite this, Ms. Jonnie recognized Mr. Escobar’s potential and consistently admired his ability to submit excellent assignments. Ms. Jonnie demonstrated qualities such as kindness, empathy, passion, and humor, which Mr. Escobar learned from and has since used while tending to his own students. Mr. Escobar has faced several obstacles that have delayed down his progress towards achieving certain goals. Mr. Escobar’s greatest challenges were adapting to a new country, learning a new language, and navigating life below the poverty line in an environment with limited resources. Despite these difficulties, Mr. Escobar persevered and did not give up. He maintained a positive attitude and sought assistance to overcome his challenges. He firmly believed that challenges are opportunities for growth and strived to achieve his goals by setting targets and continuously pushing himself to succeed.
At Great Minds in STEM, we truly admire Mr. Joel A. Escobar, his steady dedication, and commendable efforts in collaborating with us, which resulted in bringing his exceptional students to the Great Minds in STEM conference in 2022. It is worth noting that Mr. Escobar’s contribution to the field of education has been truly commendable. Moreover, we would like to highlight an interesting fact about Mr. Escobar that his students may not be aware of, he played clarinet in the Junior Philharmonic, school marching band, and jazz group. Once again, we congratulate Mr. Escobar on this remarkable achievement, and we are confident that he will continue to inspire his students to achieve greater heights of success.