Our Story

Life in Cuba

In October of 1962, Valdés relocated to San Francisco with his wife, his two children, and his sister. He then found employment at Greyhound Bus Lines and for the next eleven years, he worked at the bus company, slowly progressing until reaching an executive position. 

Many things happened in his personal life during that period; his first wife died in 1965, and, on his own for the next few years, he raised his son, José, Jr., and his daughter, Barbara. Later, he married his second wife, Silvia, a source of continuing support and inspiration.

Move to California

Since moving to the United States, his desire to return to the teaching profession never ceased. Finally, his secretary at Greyhound, tired of hearing about his obsession with teaching, wrote a letter to San José State University, which put him back on track once again to his true love: teaching. Valdés studied and earned a B.A. in Mathematics and also acquired his teaching credential, which then allowed him in 1974 to begin his teaching career at Andrew P. Hill High School in San Jose, California.

Turning Point

It was as a shock to Valdés when he realized that Hispanic students were not offered the proper learning tools and were mostly enrolled in remedial classes, where they stagnated without any expectations from teachers or administrators who believed that they could not learn, either because of cultural differences or language barriers. Valdés’ experiences during his sixteen years at Andrew P. Hill High School and the East Side Union High School District have plainly proven that all students can learn if taught properly and if it is expected that they will learn. Many of his former students, Hispanic men and women, are now working very hard in order to become teachers of mathematics and serve as models for future generations. 

Valdés retired from teaching to become the founder and director of the José Valdés Math Institute™, a program with the goal of ensuring that 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade students will enter high school beginning in at least Algebra I. Since its inception, the Institute has continued to expand, beginning with 450 students in 1989.

Inception of the Institute

In 2007, as a result of the looming recession, the José Valdés Math Institute was deleted from the budget of the East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD), who at the time, was the host to the Institute.  A dedicated group of current and former teachers, staff, students, and parents were determined to continue the legacy of Valdés, so they banded together to create the non-profit José Valdés Math Foundation. The Foundation embarked on a plan to ensure that students continue to receive the math support they need to thrive in our diverse, global society. 

We continue to honor Valdés’ illustrious work by recognizing the more than 30,000 Valdés alumni and acknowledging and celebrating the long list of Valdés supporters who have changed the lives of thousands of San José and Mid-Peninsula students. Our students have markedly improved their math skills, completed high school with advanced math course success, and matriculated into colleges and universities (many with a STEM major); they are now working and contributing to our economy within their chosen professions.

José A. Valdés passed away in December of 1991; however, his legacy continues through the work of the José Valdés Math Foundation. In this year of 2024, Valdés Math will be administering its 36th consecutive summer of math classes.

Legacy