Avenues: The World School

Avenues: The World School operates as a for-profit, international system of private schools catering to students from toddler age through 12th grade. The business model is centered on establishing a single, highly integrated learning community with multiple interconnected campuses in major global cities, supported by a shared curriculum, mission, and technology infrastructure. Revenue is primarily generated from comprehensive annual tuition fees, which for the New York campus in 2025-26 is $72,300 for the highest grades. This fee covers books, meals, athletic uniforms, field trips, and educational technology like iPads and MacBooks. The school serves families seeking a globally-focused, college-preparatory education for their children.

The institution was founded in 2010 by a team that included Benno C. Schmidt Jr., the former president of Yale University; Chris Whittle, an entrepreneur with prior experience founding Edison Schools; and Alan Greenberg, the former publisher of Esquire magazine. Schmidt brought a history of academic leadership and legal scholarship, particularly in constitutional law, having clerked for a Supreme Court Chief Justice and served as Dean of Columbia Law School. Greenberg contributed his experience in media and as a serial entrepreneur. Whittle provided his background in for-profit education ventures. The company raised $85 million before opening its flagship New York City campus in Chelsea in September 2012. A significant milestone was the first graduating class in the spring of 2016. Over the years, Avenues expanded by opening campuses in São Paulo, Brazil (2018), and Shenzhen, China (2018), as well as Avenues Online (2019). In October 2023, the New York and São Paulo campuses were acquired by Nord Anglia Education, though they continue to operate under the Avenues brand.

The core offering is a unified educational experience, branded as "One School, Many Campuses," which allows a student admitted to one campus to be admitted to all. The curriculum is designed to be rigorous and interdisciplinary, with a distinct global perspective. A key feature is language immersion, where students from a young age spend alternate days learning in either Spanish or Chinese, aiming for fluency. The curriculum spirals from nursery through 12th grade, incorporating history, geography, and economics from a global viewpoint. In the upper grades, signature programs include a project-based curriculum, a Mastery Learning System, and specialized institutes for advanced studies. The school has an in-house R&D department to develop new educational programs. This approach is intended to prepare students for a globally connected world, fostering skills to solve large-scale problems.

Keywords: private education, global schools, international curriculum, for-profit education, language immersion, college preparatory, K-12 education, interdisciplinary learning, educational technology, Nord Anglia