THANK YOU FROM THE CEO
The 2023-24 school year was a year of growth and successes.
This year was the first for our new principal, Dr. Tameka Jackson. Tameka made some key structural changes that allowed for more coaching support for teachers and the development of an Instructional Playbook for our core teaching practices.
Our Class of 2024 continued a tradition of impressive admissions results and post-graduation plans, which you can read more about on pages 4-5. On those same pages, you will see in our state test data that we are getting closer to performing at pre-pandemic levels.
We are so fortunate to be able to do our work in a world-class facility and for our Wave-Makers to have the opportunity for ongoing support through college and into their careers from Making Waves Education Foundation.
We couldn’t do what we do without your generous support. Thank you!
Alton B. Nelson, Jr. Making Waves Academy CEO
LEADERSHIP
Executive Leadership Team
Alton B. Nelson, Jr., Chief Executive Officer
Elizabeth Martinez, Chief Operating Officer
Damon Edwards, Chief Technology Officer
Senior School Leadership Team
Dr. Tameka Jackson, Principal
Marjorie McCowan, Interim Assistant Principal, Upper School
Tina Garrison, Assistant Principal, Middle School
Leadership and board members as of October 1, 2024.
OUR STUDENTS
students enrolled in grades 5-12 of students are people of color of students are from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds 1,000+ 99% 87%
Board of Directors
Alicia Malet Klein, President
Enrique Romero, Secretary
Janis Glover
Dr. Esther Hugo
Jessica Laughlin
Amy Obinyan
Margaret Watson
OUR IMPACT
SBAC State Test Results for Math and ELA
The following chart illustrates the impact of the pandemic on our school-wide results, showing pre- and post-school-closure results for Math and English Language Arts.
Note: 2019-20 testing was cancelled and 2020-21 testing was optional.
Students meeting/ exceeding standards for Math and ELA by year
The following chart illustrates Making Waves Academy’s school-wide results in 2023-24 in comparison to Contra Costa County and the State of California for socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
Comparison of socioeconomically disadvantaged students meeting/ exceeding the standard last year
Average High School Cohort Graduation Rates Over Time
CLASS OF 2024
High School Graduation College Readiness
students graduated from Making Waves Academy 95%
pursuing higher education and 5% pursuing quality career pathway
72% pursuing a four-year college or university
College and Career Plans
100% met the A-G course requirements for admissions eligibility to UC and CSU campuses
THANK YOU to the generous supporters of Making Waves Academy in 2023-24
Lead Donors
John H. & Regina K. Scully Foundation
Fullerton Family Foundation
Individual Donors
Anonymous (2)
Demetrio Barragan-Garcia
Leslie Blackburn
Shawn Boykins
Benjamin Calvert
Darcy and Richard Deming
Karla Diaz
Danelle Dibble
Michael and Pam Franklin
Gifting Fund
Angela Garay
Corina Garcia
Tammy Glover and Damon Edwards
Paul Gray
Jane and Robert Henry
Carol Heppenstall
Esther and Wally Hugo
Meka and Ajani Jackson
Wayne Kelley
Alicia Malet Klein and Tom Klein
Jessica Laughlin
Kelly Le
Emalyn Lopez
Elizabeth Martinez
Ann and William Moon
Hannah Morley and Ittai Eres
Alton B. Nelson, Jr. and Jennifer Henry
Patricia and Alexander Obidi
Patrick O’Donnell and Joe Shook
Richard Patrick
Marissa and Matthew Purkiss
Andrea and Brian Scully
Peter & Suzannah Scully Charitable Fund
Bonnie Shea and Brendan McShea
Samantha Smith
Randy Soso
Scott Tracy
Lou Tran
Carmen Velarde
Margaret Watson
Ryan Wilsey Fund
Corporate and Foundation Donors
Crosspoint Realty Services
Earthward Bound Foundation
Genentech
Joseph & Mercedes McMicking Foundation
Silver Giving Foundation
Verizon Foundation
Special Thanks
Benevity Community Impact Fund
CyberGrants
DonorsChoose
Fidelity Charitable
J.P. Morgan Charitable Giving Fund
Marin Community Foundation
Morgan Stanley
$ 17,051,334
$ 9,756,300
MEET ONE OF OUR WAVE-MAKERS
SHAPING A MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD
Grants $ 19,642,503
$ 10,699,519
$ 30,342,022
Personnel $ 18,997,782
$ 5,550,737
Services $ 4,157,946 Total $ 28,706,465
Year-end assets are higher than average due to the deposit of philanthropic donations and the balance of unused categorical state funding at the end of the fiscal year (June 30). It is expected that balances will return to their historical average at the end of the current fiscal year.
With 12 years of support from Making Waves through middle school, high school, and college, Bryana Gastélum (she/they) is on her way to earning a master’s degree in civil engineering from Stanford University before starting a full-time job this spring as an air quality consultant at a global consulting firm, Ramboll Engineering Solutions. During their career journey, Bryana has interned at environmental community organizations, conducted research on drought, mining, and wildfires, and studied abroad in Chile. She also led the Engineers for a Sustainable World club and served as a teaching assistant for a clean energy economy course at Stanford.
“With the support of Making Waves, I was able to realize my potential to excel in higher education. I found my passion for environmental engineering early on and have devoted my career to helping my communities of Richmond and San Pablo continue our fight for a clean and healthy environment. The core values of respect, resilience, and responsibility remain instilled in me, and I look forward to applying those values as I grow as an engineer and advocate for energy justice.”
BRYANA GASTÉLUM
MAKING WAVES ACADEMY ’20 STANFORD UNIVERSITY ’24, M.S. ’25
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!
Ready to help us expand our model to bring together K-12, higher education, and industry so thousands of underrepresented students can access pathways to economic mobility? Reach out to Allison Holton at aholton@making-waves.org to learn more.
makingwavesacademy.org
