About
Avenues is a private pre-K through 12th grade school that opened its first campus in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood in September 2012. Avenues will ultimately become a single school with multiple global campuses—with plans to open Avenues schools in the world’s great cities, including Beijing, London, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Paris, and Abu Dhabi, among others. Avenues represents an audacious attempt to raise the global standard for top-tier private schools, and it is led by one of the most exceptional leadership teams ever assembled in the education market.
Thesis
In today’s Knowledge Economy, the demand for top-tier education has never been greater around the world, especially in ascendant economies such as Brazil, China, India, and the Middle East. The supply/demand imbalance in top private schools persists because of the vision and effort required to bring such new institutions into existence. We believe that the Avenues team is THE team to effect such a bold re-envisioning of what an excellent pre-K-to-12 education can be, both in the U.S. and around the world.
People
Avenues is led by an extraordinary leadership team, comprising visionary entrepreneurs, top-ranked educators, and senior business leaders.
Key Board Members:
- Seth Lehr
- Peter Bennett
- Michael Stakias
- David Stienes
Management Team
- Benno Schmidt
- Chairman Formerly President of Yale University, Dean of Columbia Law School, CEO of Edison Schools
- Chris Whittle, CEO
- Formerly Founder of Edison Schools, Founder of Whittle Communications
- Alan Greenberg, President
- Formerly Vice Chairman of Whittle Communications, Publisher of Esquire Magazine, Founder of Greenberg News Networks
Product
Avenues’ first campus, opening in Fall 2012 in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, represents one of the country’s boldest new educational facilities in the last few decades. At over 215,000 square feet, the campus is not only an architectural achievement, but it was purpose-built to serve every need of a top-tier educational institution, from lighting, to IT, to study and collaboration spaces. Serving over 700 students from pre-K to 9th grade, the curriculum was designed by the nation’s leading educators, with emphasis on language immersion, subject mastery, independent study, and cultural relevance through city-based experiences. Avenues’ global expansion plans include Sao Paulo and Beijing, both slated to open by 2015.
Potential
Avenues is attempting to solve one of the most vexing problems in private education today—the supply/demand imbalance at the top-tier pre-K-12 level. The global demand for exceptional education has never been greater, especially in emerging economies such as Brazil,Russia and Asia. We believe that Avenues can expand to 20 or more of the world’s great cities over the next 10 years, potentially serving 50,000 students at capacity.
Megatrends
- Knowledge Economy
- Globalization
- Brands
- Demographics
How Big Can This Be?
Avenues can be the leading private pre-K-12 school in the world. While every city has great educational institutions, there has been no single school with such a potential global brand and reach as Avenues.
Predictability
At maturity, each Avenues campus represents a “near-perpetuity” model, with churn at the typical top-tier private school of under 2% annually. The stickiness of the customer base is among the highest in any business we have ever seen, with potentially 15 years of revenue from each student that starts at the pre-K level. In addition, because families typically send siblings to the same school, the “multiplier effect” only furthers the visibility of Avenues’ per-campus revenue. In addition, local partnerships with governments and key educational institutions should help mitigate the risk of entry into new markets.
Risks
The investment required to build a campus, assemble an educational leadership team, and enroll a critical mass of students is very high. Avenues will be required to continue to raise capital to expand globally. Additionally, parents may be reluctant to send their students to such a new entrant in the top-tier school market, at least until Avenues’ reputation is established.
