Above image: students walk into one of the new upper school buildings

On August 21st, more than 1,000 students arrived at Making Waves Academy to begin the school year on the newly expanded campus. Through the Lakeside Drive campus expansion project, supported by Making Waves Foundation, the Academy gained an additional 14 acres and 250,000 square feet of teaching space.

Last school year, students moved into the new middle school campus. The upper school campus, which consists of four new and renovated buildings, is now also open. New features of the upper school campus include state-of-the-art science classrooms, a maker space with welding rooms, a black box theatre, a culinary classroom, music rooms, open learning areas, a student gardening area, a restorative justice center, and a parent resource center.

CEO Alton B. Nelson, Jr. greets a student on the upper school campus

Access to high-quality facilities can impact student success. Our expanded and enhanced campus was designed to promote student achievement to a growing number of Richmond students.

Alton B. Nelson, Jr.
Making Waves Academy CEO

A student walks onto the middle school campus

The Lakeside Drive campus expansion will allow the student population to grow to up to 1,500 students by 2024. The next phase of the campus expansion project includes an upper school gymnasium and a sports complex.