Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

As a public school, charters receive a mix of state, local, and federal monies based on the number of students enrolled. As a public school, charter schools receive funding based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA). MWA, like many other charter schools, is also a federally and state recognized non-profit. While a significant portion of MWA’s funding comes from public funding, another significant portion comes from charitable contributions, public and private grants, and fundraising.

Yes. As a California public school, all teachers of core academic subjects at Making Waves Academy (MWA) must be properly credentialed and certificated. We work with faculty in meeting and maintaining their certifications and credentials.

Yes. The upper school offers an interscholastic athletic program. Making Waves Academy (MWA) is part of the Bay Counties League East (BCL), which is part of the larger Bay Area Conference (BAC), as well as the North Coast Section (NCS), governed by the statewide California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). As members, students must be academically eligible to participate. See the upper school pages to learn more about the athletics opportunities offered.

Students can participate in student leadership, dance, art, and a variety of different clubs and activities in both the middle school and upper school.

Students can arrive as early as 7:30 am. Breakfast is served at 7:45 am. Unless there is a special schedule, instruction begins at 8:05 am. The core academic day ends by 3:30 pm Monday-Thursday and 2:00 PM on Fridays. Students enrolled in the middle school extended day program receive additional academic support and enrichment and stay until 6:00 pm. Students in the upper school can stay to receive additional academic support  through the Student Success Program until 5:30 pm. All students must depart the campus no later than 6:00 pm. 

Yes, MWA offers bus service for a limited number of students.  Younger students and siblings are given priority to receive this FREE service.

Yes, MWA offers free breakfast, lunch, and snacks for those attending extended day programs.  MWA is a Provision 2 school, which means that ALL students eat for free since well over half of our students (more than 80%) qualify for Free and Reduced Priced Meals (FRPM) through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Making Waves Academy (MWA) aims to help students not merely enter, but graduate from college, and with as little debt as possible.  Furthermore, MWA achieves these outcomes by providing financial resources, social-emotional development, and coaching throughout their affiliation with the organization.

Students currently in the fourth grade must apply to the lottery for entry to Making Waves Academy for the fifth grade. Applications are announced and distributed in the spring. Students chosen in the lottery are either accepted or put on a wait list in the order in which their lottery number was generated. Listed below are groups given priority for enrollment through the lottery process as stated and approved in our charter:

• Eligible children of full-time MWA employees.
• Current fourth grade students who are siblings of students who have been or are enrolled in the Making Waves Academy or Making Waves Education Program. A sibling is defined as a biological/adoptive sibling, step sibling, or foster child residing within the same household.
• Fourth grade students who are currently enrolled in Title I schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, and/or qualify as Title I due to eligibility for Free or Reduced Price Meals while attending a school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District.
• Current fourth grade students who attend other schools in Contra Costa County.
• Current fourth grade students who attend other schools in California.

Expansion in Richmond

Making Waves Academy will expand its enrollment in grades 5-12 each year for the next five years, growing the student population from 1,026 this academic year to approximately 1,500. MWA also intends to expand to include grades K-4 eventually.

The facilities expansion project, which is supported by Making Waves Foundation, has provided an additional 14 acres and 250,000 square feet of teaching space on the Lakeside campus. The middle and upper school facilities now include collaborative open learning areas, a parent resource center, spaces for the restorative practices program, a gymnasium, music rooms, maker spaces, and performance art spaces. An additional gym and fields for the upper school as well as a campus nearby for lower grades are planned over the next several years.

The goals of the project were to serve more students of need from the community, increase the breadth and depth of course offerings, support 21st-century teaching and learning strategies, and move toward a more fiscally sustainable size.

Pittsburg Update

At its October 17th meeting, the MWA Board voted to approve the closure of the charter number assigned to MWA Pittsburg, given that Making Waves Foundation determined it would be unable to build a campus for us there. We are deeply disappointed that we will not be able to serve the students and families of Pittsburg with a school but recognize that a path to quality facilities on our own is not possible. We thank all those that supported our efforts.

We are heartened that Making Waves Foundation plans to engage in the Pittsburg community by allocating $2,000,000 to increase college attendance and graduation rates for Pittsburg students. It has begun to partner with stakeholders to explore ways to grow educational opportunities by providing services, including funding for scholarships, college access programming, and college coaching.

Separately, the private foundation associated with our founder John H. Scully and his wife Regina K. Scully has generously pledged $1,000,000 to the city’s California Theater to support capital improvements so that it can continue to encourage learning through the arts for the youth of the community.