Original Research by School Decision on Making Waves Academy District
Making Waves Academy District operates a single middle and high school serving students in grades five through twelve in Richmond, in Contra Costa County. The school, formally the John H. and Regina K. Scully Campus for Equity in Education, is a charter school that recently secured a five-year charter renewal from the Contra Costa County Board of Education, providing operational stability through the next review cycle.
The district's enrollment is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller presence of Black students, Asian students, and others. The enrollment is distributed across eight grades, with a slightly smaller cohort in grade twelve than in the middle grades, which may reflect typical attrition patterns or a smaller incoming ninth-grade class in prior years. State assessment data and four-year graduation rates were not available, so a prospective family would need to request those directly from the school to evaluate academic achievement and college-readiness outcomes.
Among Contra Costa County's districts, Making Waves Academy stands out for per-pupil current spending in the upper range, reflecting substantial resource allocation to student programs and support. The district's chronic absenteeism rate sits above the county's midpoint, meaning that while attendance is an area the school tracks, absences are more frequent here than in some neighboring districts. A parent evaluating whether this school fits their child may want to look into this further with the administration, particularly if consistent attendance is a concern or priority for the family.
The school has recently shifted its disciplinary approach toward restorative justice practices, using restorative circles and conferences to address student conflicts and social-emotional development rather than relying primarily on suspensions. This represents a deliberate choice about school climate and how behavior is managed, a distinction relevant to families who care about the tone of student discipline and support. The publicly reported focus on equity in education, reflected in the campus name, points to an institutional commitment to the populations the school serves.
State testing results, course offerings, staffing details, and the free-or-reduced-price lunch rate were not available in the data, so families should reach out to the school directly to understand the breadth of academic programs, teacher qualifications and turnover, and the socioeconomic composition of the student body. The school operates as a charter entity, which means families are choosing enrollment and can withdraw if the fit changes, a structural difference from assignment-based district schools.
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