Making Waves Academy
Combining academic rigor with social-emotional learning
Making Waves Academy is a public charter school in Richmond, California, committed to rigorously and holistically preparing students to gain acceptance to and graduate from college to ultimately become valuable contributors to the workforce and their communities.
For Making Waves Academy, K-12 education is about preparing students for college, career, and life success by helping them develop critical competencies, skills, and mindsets.
Part of our work includes encouraging our students, known as Wave-Makers to identify their life dream as they pursue a rigorous academic education and build the social-emotional skills they need to succeed. With appropriate scholarship and coaching support from Making Waves Education Foundation they can then gain access to an array of post-secondary pathways that will help them realize those dreams.
And we believe in preparing all students for college while de-stigmatizing alternate pathways and supporting a variety of post-secondary choices.
Campus for Equity in Education
Making Waves Academy was co-founded by John H. and Regina K. Scully in the fall of 2007. In the spring of 2022, Making Waves Education Foundation dedicated the 20.25-acre campus as the Campus for Equity in Education, emphasizing Making Waves’ commitment to address disparities in education and recognizing John H. and Regina K. Scully’s extraordinary vision and long-standing support to interrupt inequity and advance educational opportunities.
Making Waves Education Foundation also supports Making Waves Academy through special project funding, services, and the land ownership and ongoing maintenance of the middle and upper school facilities, which includes collaborative open learning areas, a parent resource center, restorative justice centers, gymnasiums, music rooms, maker spaces, and performance art spaces as part of a facilities expansion project, providing an additional 14 acres and 250,000 square feet of learning space.
Making Waves Academy Rankings and Recognition
The 2022 U.S. News High School Rankings include data on nearly 24,000 public high schools across the U.S. and focus on student performance on state assessments and how well schools prepare students for college, among other factors. Making Waves Academy received an overall score of 93.97 out of 100 and ranked among the top high schools in the U.S., in California, and in the Bay Area.
Overall Score of 93.97/100
- Based on performance on state-required tests, graduation rate, and college preparation
Among the top 4.5% of high schools in the U.S.
- Ranked 1,076 out of 23,800 U.S. high schools
Among the top 5.8% of high schools in California
- Ranked 150 out of 2,572 California high schools
Among the top 13% of high schools in the Bay Area
- Ranked 31 out of 239 San Francisco Metro Bay Area high schools
Among the top 7.3% of charter schools in the U.S.
- Ranked 207 out of 2,830 U.S. charter schools
Learn More
Learn more about Making Waves Academy’s full ranking on the U.S. News and World Report website
Learn MoreLatest News and Stories
Introducing Making Waves Academy Class of 2023
June 28, 2023
Top 22 Stories That Made Waves in 2022
December 19, 2022