Avenues: The World School is education entrepreneur Chris Whittle’s new for-profit Manhattan private school. Whittle has hired an all-star team of educators including Gardner Dunnan, Tom Bonnell and Libby Hixson from Dalton and Nancy Shulman from the 92nd St. Y. Avenues plans to open for nursery through 9th grade in Sept. 2012 and expand one grade every year after that. The school offers a unique “Early Admission” option.
Avenues’ unique benefits include an emphasis on foreign language instruction, international travel experiences, and future opportunities to study abroad at other Avenues campuses. The school is also different from other Manhattan private schools because it has an explicit, advertised focus on college admissions. From the school’s website discussing its Mastery Program:
Increasingly higher educational institutions are looking for students who have a demonstrated area of excellence, whether that is playing the cello, running the 1,500 meters, or writing one’s first novel. An Avenues student will be exposed to a wide range of knowledge and, starting in Upper School, delve deeply into a self-chosen field of learning, whether art, music, sports or history. The Avenues mastery program is a concept not often encountered below the college level.
The school also promises:
Avenues will help place every Avenues student in an important college, university or other higher-education institution. Throughout the world there are many superb higher education programs. Avenues will know them, make sure they know and respect graduates of an Avenues education, and help each student find the best school for his or her goals—whether that be Princeton or Pratt, Harvard or Howard, Amherst or Annapolis.
Whittle and business partner Benno Schmidt are currently renovating the school’s Chelsea building. Curbed has the latest story.