{"id":771,"date":"2026-05-23T04:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771"},"modified":"2026-05-23T04:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:05:10","slug":"50-students-graduate-from-arizona-autism-charter-schools-as-demand-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771","title":{"rendered":"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Fifty students with autism crossed the graduation stage on Friday at Arizona Autism Charter Schools<\/b><\/i>, including two Tucson students. <\/p>\n

Read more DACA recipient detained by ICE in Tucson released after posting bond<\/a><\/p>\n

The schools are free public charter schools with no tuition cost. They maintain a low student-teacher ratio of one teacher for every three students.<\/p>\n

High schooler Austin Leyva said he was at a crisis point until he transferred to the Tucson campus. Leyva said he struggled to keep up in class at Canyon del Oro High.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understood it, but it was how fast they were going. It was next subject, next subject, and I was on the last one,\u201d Leyva said.<\/p>\n

The struggle pushed him to a breaking point. He needed immediate medical care at a crisis recovery center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really suicidal, and I ended up in the CRC, and so that went really downhill, but the connection here and being here has really helped me,\u201d Leyva said.<\/p>\n

Low student-teacher ratio helps students thrive<\/b><\/h3>\n

Leyva said transferring to Tucson\u2019s Autism Charter School helped him recover. The low student-teacher ratio allows him to connect with teachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne teacher that stands out right now is my art teacher…she doesn\u2019t feel like an art teacher; she feels more like a mom,\u201d Leyva said.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Garcia\u2019s son Lorenzo was promoted from eighth grade to high school during the ceremony Friday.<\/p>\n

Garcia is a single mother who previously used ESA funds to place Lorenzo in an autism-focused private school. When that school moved to a four-day week, she couldn\u2019t make it work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a single mom, and so I didn\u2019t have another person in the house who could support him being home by himself,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

She found the Arizona Autism Charter School in Tucson. Lorenzo started there in sixth grade and was promoted to ninth grade in Friday\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a yearbook, and he has more teacher signatures than students right now. He\u2019s working on kids, but the staff here- he just knows they welcome him, they understand him, and he just has so many trusting adults on campus,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Read more Man arrested after stabbing old Holidome Inn Hotel in Tucson<\/a><\/p>\n

Schools expect to double enrollment<\/b><\/h3>\n

Chief of Schools Myla Goyne said the small class sizes make the school high quality. The charter school status makes it free.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not need ESA money, we do not need tuition, we do not need any type of payment, so as long as we have an opening, we are here for your child,\u201d Goyne said.<\/p>\n

Goyne said small class sizes and connections to teachers distinguish the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we can really take the time to get to know the children on an individualized basis; we can differentiate instruction; we can also provide specialized instruction \u2013 all the related services for special education and things like that,\u201d Goyne said.<\/p>\n

Goyne said 1,000 students are enrolled statewide, with 1,000 more waiting for a spot. As many public and charter schools struggle to fill seats, she expects enrollment to double in the next five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have heard the call that we need more locations, so here in Tucson, we are excited to announce we will be expanding next school year,\u201d Goyne said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really do specialize in how students with autism learn \u2013 that\u2019s our jam, that\u2019s what we love, and we do a pretty good job at it,\u201d Goyne said.<\/p>\n

Leyva said the school helped improve his mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really helped, and my mental state has gone up a lot, and I just feel happier here,\u201d Leyva said.<\/p>\n

The Tucson campus is expanding to a new location a mile down the road to accommodate more students. Although there\u2019s a statewide waitlist, the Tucson school has openings available for fall.<\/p>\n

Isabela Lisco<\/b><\/u><\/i> is a <\/i>Report for America<\/b><\/u><\/i> corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the <\/i>Arizona Local News Foundation\u2019s<\/b><\/u><\/i> Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.<\/i><\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Tucson Now: New works at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fifty students with autism crossed the graduation stage Friday at Arizona Autism Charter Schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\n50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fifty students with autism crossed the graduation stage Friday at Arizona Autism Charter Schools.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-23T04:05:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T04:05:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771\"},\"wordCount\":765,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771\",\"name\":\"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T04:05:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=771#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"Fifty students with autism crossed the graduation stage Friday at Arizona Autism Charter Schools.","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-23T04:05:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows","datePublished":"2026-05-23T04:05:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771"},"wordCount":765,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771","name":"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-23T04:05:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/96b96d17c988c09f786429852b843a04.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=771#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"50 students graduate from Arizona Autism Charter Schools as demand grows"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}