In the past years, some students have already taken advantage of WCAAD’s fantastic online classes with successful outcomes even getting into prestigious colleges. We have students coming from Canada, New York, Georgia, Kansas, Texas, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shandong Province, Anhui Province…etc.
 
The Academy encourages students who have not yet enrolled to participate in this enrichment program that is as nurturing as in-person classes. The Academy is providing the same rigor and doing their best to accommodate the community with the same exciting curriculum.
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The year of 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of WCAAD Principal Wang Lei’s career in children’s art education.

​Congratulations to WCAAD Student Kate Xiao, 8 years old, and her brother Owen Xiao, 7 years old, for winning the School Excellence Award at the National PTA Reflection 2022-23 themed “Show Your Voice!”  Their winning artworks will advance to the district level.

Kate and Owen are residents of Texas and they started to take WCAAD online class in 2020. We have witnessed their improvement in art. Kate has won multiple awards for various art contests.  She won the Senate Award at the 2020-21 Health Fair Drawing Contest, the Excellence Award a the 2020-21 LA Web Children’s Drawing Contest, and the 1st Place Award at the Texas YCIA Youth Arts Festival.

​This certificate belongs to WCAAD student Eric Ng. He won the 4th Prize at the First Disneyland Children Fantasy World Drawing Contest in 1997.  He was 11 years old then.

Eric started to take art classes at West California Academy of Art and Design at the age of 11.  He won numerous awards at various national and international art contests.  He earned acceptance to his dream college Art Center College of Design--Product Design in 2003. He has been teaching at Art Center College of Design since his graduation.

"The things we learn in drawing could be good for art major, but they're also good for other areas of life. West California Academy of Art and Design puts me through a process where my character, creativity, passion and endurance are constantly improved. Teachers not only help students improve with their drawing skills but also teach them the importance and joy of creating their own unique artwork. I am here to present all my thanks to the teachers who taught me to become a creator instead of a copyist.” ----Eric Ng

​WCAAD student Lydia Gu was accepted by UCLA in 2012.
 
“I began learning how to draw at W. California Art Academy when I was six years old. I specifically remember one of my art teachers telling me to not be afraid of drawing something wrong because these mistakes could lead to other creations I hadn’t thought of before. By being trained to draw with a pen, I wasn’t able to erase any lines that I interpreted to be mistakes, and this led me to become more fearless each time I approached a new project. Taking classes at W. California Art Academy and drawing in general eventually became my outlet for stress, an escape into a world where creativity flows freely.”  ---Lydia Gu, graduated from UCLA in 2016

​WCAAD student Emily Liang was accepted by Parsons -The New School for Design--Illustration in 2020.  She wrote a comment about our school on Yelp.
 
“I was looking for a new art class to create my portfolio. After meeting with Ms. Wang and Omar, I quickly knew this was the place I wanted to go to. Since then, I have learned a lot from Omar's classes and I was able to become a better artist and be more creative with my art. And because of them, I was also able to create an amazing portfolio which got me into a lot of really great art colleges. I am incredibly grateful to this place and I would absolutely recommend going here.” ----Emily Liang

​“Parents of the newly registered students often say to me: ‘We have heard about West California Academy of Art and Design for a long time and it’s a highly recommended art school in our community.’” WCAAD principal Wang Lei said, “At first, I thought they were just being polite, but during the summer time many parents would really come from far away bringing their children to take our summer intensive art program.  This has really surprised me and at the same time I feel so privileged.”

Indeed, students from various countries and regions have signed up for WCAAD art courses, either in-person or online.
 
Ukraine
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​Congratulations to Natalene Gunawan for her admittance to University of California, Santa Cruz--Graphic Design!

​Additional accepted schools:
 
California State University, Fullerton; California State University, San Francisco; University of California, Merced.

Arts and Academics are deeply connected disciplines, and there is nothing dispensable about drawing at West California Academy of Art and Design.

​The arts we teach here are central to the mission of educating students in math, science, and the humanities at their school studies, allowing young people to develop a creative understanding of the world.  West California Academy of Art and Design prepares them to be the creative leaders of tomorrow, no matter what field they choose. 



WCAAD alumni:
Crystal Tung：Harvard University
Kenny Chung：Harvard University
Qin An Zhou：Yale University
Sen Lin: Yale University
Jonas Ma: Columbia University
Peter Chen: Princeton University
Tiffany Chen: Princeton University
Ashley Xiang：Cornell University
Effie Yang： Northwest University

​Entertainment Design students (beginning and advanced) - class assignment challenge.

​Using a vegetable they designed a character in a three hour span.

​This assignment limits their option yet still produces various creative options and forces students to research, apply and have fun in their assignment for better design solutions.
 
The crisis of global warming is at the heart of most students. Amber Liu constructs an experimental work using paper mache and found objects.