Making Waves Academy District

The Making Waves Academy District consists of a single charter school, Making Waves Academy, serving grades 5-12 in Richmond, California, with a high enrollment of economically disadvantaged students.

This school stands out for its strong student support and engagement, evidenced by a graduation rate of 86% and a chronic absenteeism rate of 13.8%, which is notably lower than the state average. The school invests significantly more per student than the typical California school, and this appears to contribute to positive outcomes, particularly in keeping students on track to graduate. Academically, the school shows a promising pattern where student performance improves in the later high school grades, with 11th graders scoring well above state averages in both English Language Arts and Science.

However, the school faces a clear challenge in mathematics, where proficiency rates trail the state average by nearly 10 percentage points overall, with the largest gap appearing in 11th grade. Performance also tends to dip in 8th grade across all subjects, suggesting this is a key transition point. Overall, Making Waves Academy demonstrates effective strategies for student retention and college readiness in some areas, while identifying mathematics as a primary focus for continued improvement.