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Diana Diaz-Harrison, founder and Executive Director of the Arizona Autism Charter School, is my featured guest on this BRAND NEW episode of The Women’s Eye podcast with Catherine Anaya.
An astounding 1 in 54 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism.
Not finding a fit in public school options, Diana was inspired to start Arizona Autism Charter School in 2014 for her son Sammy who was diagnosed with autism when he was two-years-old.
Based on the success of charter schools for children in other states, she decided to start a tuition-free school in Arizona because the private school options were so costly.
Today, Sammy is thriving and so is Arizona Autism Charter School, which is expanding to a new state-of-the-art campus!
This charter school is the first tuition-free, public charter in the state to focus on the needs of students with autism.
In six short years, the school has grown from 90 students to a new 40,000 square foot campus with an enrollment of 375 students.
Diana tells me what she believes her school’s growth says about the needs of children and families with autism, many of whom have traveled across the country to enroll their students in her school.
We also talk about the challenges the pandemic created for families with children with special needs and how Arizona Autism Charter School and its students adapted to at-home learning.
Plus, find out what drives Diana to continue advocating for families and children with autism and her future plans for satellite schools across the state and perhaps beyond.
Enjoy the vidcast!
Don’t miss our conversation on the next episode of The Women’s Eye podcast!
For more information about Arizona Autism Charter School:
Instagram: @azautismcharterschools
Facebook: Arizona Autism Charter Schools
Also, please check out our story on changemaker Jessica Posner who fought for establishing a school for girls in Kenya:
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