Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences


Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences is a private school in Wilmington, North Carolina that focuses on education for academically gifted students in grades 4-8.

History

Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences was established in 1997 and was founded by Patti Deffendal. Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences is the first school in Wilmington, North Carolina to concentrate on advanced academics. At WAAS there is a 4-5th grade classroom and there are 6-8th grades. WAAS concentrates on Science, Mathematics, Language Arts, Social Studies, Spanish, and Explorations.

Alumni

Among notable people that went to WAAS is Sam Spaulding who attended Peking University and was a finalist on the college Jeopardy! tournament. Out of the six high schools in Wilmington, North Carolina, three have either valedictorians
or salutorians that are former WAAS students. The valedictorians of the Hoggard High School classes of '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13, and '14 have all been WAAS graduates. Many of the kids from WAAS also choose to go to the North Carolina School of Science and Math.

Administration and faculty

WAAS is currently headed up by Beth Upton, a veteran of the New Hanover County AIG program. Current faculty includes:
WAAS offers extracurricular activities. The clubs and groups are run by parents and teachers.