TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — For Amara Hudgin, watching her son Wyatt walk into school these days looks nothing like it used to.
"He is excited about school," Hudgin said. "He talks about his friends constantly. He's never alone. He's never left out. He's never behind."
Wyatt is heading into his third year at Arizona Autism Charter Schools this fall, starting eighth grade. This time, he'll walk into a brand new upper campus building that held its ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning in Tucson.
Hudgin said school didn't always look like this for her son.
"He spent all of his school day pretty much alone, in the playground, at lunch, recess," she said. "He was always alone. And we understand it's hard to connect to a kid who does things a little differently."
Before finding the charter school, Hudgin said the family had been searching for the right fit for Wyatt for years, including a stretch of homeschooling to make sure his needs were being met. She said the shift since he enrolled has been dramatic.
"The difference is night and day," Hudgin said. "He's never alone. He's never left out. He's never behind. AZACS always met him right where he was."
Dozens of families like the Hudgins toured the new building Wednesday morning before the ribbon-cutting. It's the seventh campus statewide for Arizona Autism Charter Schools, according to Ron Harrison, the organization's co-founder and CEO.
"We started with 90 kids back in 2014," Harrison said. "In Arizona, this year we'll be serving over 1,300 students throughout the state of Arizona."
Harrison said the Tucson upper campus will serve grades six through 12 and, once fully enrolled, is expected to serve around 120 students. He credited his wife, Diana Diaz Harrison, with the original idea to start a school built specifically for students with autism.
Campus Director Kelly Hardegree-Ullman said the new building gives staff more room to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.
"It's not just a matter of getting school, getting them their education," Hardegree-Ullman said. "It's how can we make them or set them up to be successful in the community, in a job, things like that."
Hardegree-Ullman said that includes hands-on, work-based learning, and starting next year, a culinary arts class where students can earn their food handler's license before graduating.
"There's more space here than our previous campus," she said. "So again, we have a secondary building, so that's really going to let us build our transition program."
Students move into the new building when classes start Aug. 3.
For more information on Arizona Autism Charter Schools' Tucson campus visit here.
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
