Total unique students in Aprils Hero program to date : 135
Students so far this week: 54
Art submissions this week: 55
Total art submissions in April to date: 227
Last Class before graduation: Friday May 2nd 2025.
We are proud to celebrate autism awareness month by launching a month of free art programming for children of local heroes (military and first responders) plus autistic and special needs students.
Above: Yvonne Wan teaching as a volunteer guest art teacher at Autism Academy Glendale; plus Focus comics Independant class rooms across the valley including Glendale Library. Eli and Eliamari have been with Focus comics free art camp for the last few years. We are proud to invest in their future and cant wait to see how they develop their artistry and self confidence over time.
We are almost 4 weeks into our Hero art program. This week we are focusing on serving autistic and special needs students in Glendale, Litchfield Park and students throughout Maricopa. Thank you Yvonne Wan for volunteering her time this week at Autism Academy in Glendale, Dreaming Summit Elementary school, Glendale Library, home visits for students who are home-schooled, and on line zoom classes. Our students valued the large group and individualized learning opportunities with Comic creator Yvonne Wan (who has a Masters of Science, in Social Cultural Anthropology which includes anthropological perspectives on psychiatry and psychology).
This week, our autistic and special needs students explored character design, technical drawing skills, digital art and traditional mediums. Our advanced students loved learning how to design coloring sheets and posters, and designing themselves as a fire fighter character. Our students were also presented with coloring sheets of Focus the autistic super hero, a Glendale / Goodyear Fire Truck and Fire fighter. They were also presented with water coloring technique assignments with a MCSO Pony. Our students learned about the important hero work that fire fighters and law enforcement officers perform in the community. Yvonne Wan, our Focus comic creator introduced our students how to apply different water color techniques, including gradation, textures and layers (Wet on Wet and Wet on Dry brush techniques). Thank you Glendale / Goodyear Fire service for providing our Glendale students with Fire service gifts. Thank you MCSO for offering our graduates gifts on May 3rd.
Here are photos from Glendale Library, where Yvonne Wan hosted in person classes from 10am to 5pm whilst also simultaneously running online zoom classes:
Check out our students art work.
Above: Our students learned the art of Chinese Calligraphy and explored the meaning and theme of ‘Hero’. The students learned how to write HERO using Chinese Calligraphy in class.
Thank you to our team of teachers and support staff who helped our students fulfill their creative potential. We love Autism Academy and Yvonne Wan for supporting young autistic talent.
Thank you Blick Art Materials for providing class room art supplies for this program in support of children of heroes plus autistic and special needs kids. Thank you United Buckeye Fire Fighter Charities for their support.