Home - Making Waves Academy

Mission Statement

Making Waves commits 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.

AT A GLANCE

1,000+

students enrolled

99%

students of color

78%

students are socioeconomically disadvantaged

99%

high school graduation rate in 2019

95%

college admission rate in 2019

Testimonials

Meet Luciano, 13th Waver

In California, only 4% of students transfer from community college to a four-year university in two years. Meet Luciano, the first Making Waves Academy graduate to transfer from a community college to a four-year university in just two years. “It’s not where you start, it’s where you end. It’s how much effort you put into where you start to get where you want to go. Be proud that you’re going to school,” says Luciano, who is now studying criminal justice at Sacramento State.

Meet Amari-Lynn, 17th Waver

“I [appreciate] that I’m here right now, and that I can do so much with this small community. We come from a community where people aren’t really tight knit,” says senior Amari-Lynn, whose favorite subject is psychology. “If I went to any other school, I wouldn’t feel that community aspect as much. I wouldn’t be able to have a heart-to-heart conversation with a teacher.”

Meet Mr. Gordon, Music Teacher

“My favorite part of teaching at Making Waves Academy would have to be the looks on students’ faces once they’ve realized they’ve created something musically and they’ve become essentially musicians,” says Mr. Gordon, who has worked at the Making Waves Academy middle school since 2013. “Being able to sing, get past their nerves, to be able to show ‘hey, I really can do this’—show their friends, show their peers, show myself, show their parents—that they’re actually as musically talented as they knew that they were.”