ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Core Program

What makes Avenues unique is how we teach. In this course guide, you will find distinguishing differences of an Avenues education—the learning experiences that define a student’s journey through the upper grades at Avenues New York. Our program gives students the skills they need to thrive in a world where emphasis is placed on what you can do with what you know. We believe it is the strongest possible response to a future that we cannot yet imagine, but for which we can prepare. Students attending Avenues gain access to a highly enriching and stimulating curriculum and co-curricular experiences. Students are encouraged to think across and within traditional fields of study, as this approach invites them to practice the expansive thinking necessary to formulate innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. 

The upper grades program begins by establishing a shared foundation of integrated, interdisciplinary studies. Whenever possible, the intersections between subjects such as English, art and design, World Course and science are emphasized. This builds a base of essential content knowledge, develops key skills, and nurtures a mindset that favors an integrated view of the world that leans into complexity. Furthermore, intensive study in mathematics, world languages, Wellness and Movement, along with High-Intensity Practice in coding, writing, and math (HIP) and self-directed learning via Mastery practices round out the instructional core and foster habits that position students for both rigor and wellness. 

As students progress through the upper grades program, they have more elective choices. Our course offerings provide a wide variety of learning opportunities, and we view decision-making during course selection as an important part of the learning process. Each grade level features required courses and opportunities to make choices that will define an individual student’s experience, as described below. 

Advanced Electives (Grades 9-12)

The upper grades feature certain courses that require teacher approval to enroll in, as the workload, knowledge foundation and/or skills required are beyond what is generally expected at that grade level. These courses are designated as Advanced courses and are offered at specific grade levels as indicated in the Catalog section below. Once enrolled in an Advanced Elective, students should anticipate that homework may exceed that found in other courses in the same discipline and grade level. Advanced classes in grades 11-12 approach first-year university classes in their rigor and expectations for independent student work.

Advanced courses customarily require a recommendation from the relevant discipline teacher from the previous academic year, in addition to a record of exceptionally strong academic work in the relevant discipline. Additionally, there may be prerequisite coursework required for registration eligibility, which would be detailed in the Advanced course description. 

The Avenues Institute for Advanced Math (Grades 7-12)

The Avenues Institute for Advanced Math (AIAM) is a highly selective and challenging program designed for students who see mathematics as a source of beauty and inspiration in the world, and who feel driven to produce groundbreaking work in pure and applied mathematics. The Institute could be the right next step for students who perceive nature as a collection of patterns, feel the beauty and poetry in complex mathematical relationships and strive to explain and model the world through the lens of mathematics. 

If accepted, the Institute replaces a student’s regular math class, from their point of entry until graduation, and allows students to explore advanced topics that are rarely accessible in a secondary setting, such as Advanced Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra. Students learn from a combination of independent research, peer group discussion, hands-on projects, and constant exploration of mathematics by making physical models. AIAM students examine major mathematical breakthroughs from 17,000 BCE to the present day, incorporating cultural and historical perspectives into their analysis. 

Institute for the Advanced Study of Ethics and the Common Good (Grades 10-12)

Students admitted to the Institute will be invited into a 3-year program that allows them to explore the debates and tensions in Western thought regarding ethical concepts and the notion of the common good.  The program will draw on the analytic tools of the social sciences (economics, sociology, psychology, and political science) and the humanities (history, art history, literary analysis, and philosophy) and span from the Classical World of Athens and Sparta to our present-day.  Students will develop their abilities to draw important parallels between current events and past dynamics; discuss hot-button topics with clarity and nuance; and make thoughtful, well-reasoned arguments.  They will come to see more clearly not only our current moment, but the chapters that have led to it.  At the end of their time, Institute graduates will be well-prepared for success in the liberal arts at the nation’s most selective universities and in their broader lives as citizens.

All rising 10th-grade students are eligible to apply through a selective process in the Spring.

Mastery Learning System (Grades 10-12)

The Mastery Learning System (MLS) is a selective course of study at Avenues for students in grades 10th - 12th who desire the challenge of a self-driven and independent pathway in their academics. Enrollment in the MLS requires a strong demonstration of Mastery principles in previous years, as well as  a successful application to the Mastery Learning System.  

Students accepted into the MLS accelerate the Avenues curriculum, exchanging standard classes for time and space to complete complex, interdisciplinary projects.  It is the ultimate in personalized learning, supported by a framework that ensures that students master the breadth of content in the Avenues World Elements (AWE) while vastly expanding depth of knowledge in their self-selected areas of concentration. 

A community of purpose-driven students, MLS members set ambitious learning goals and collaborate with content experts to build the requisite knowledge and skills for achieving them.  Students who thrive in the MLS are agents of their learning.  They are intensely curious about the world and have developed an admirable level of maturity for the freedom and independence that this experience provides. 

The goal of the MLS is to develop the next generation of leading experts and polymaths who—per Avenues’ vision—are “uniquely equipped to understand and solve global-scale problems.” Students accepted into the MLS experience will have a portion of their class schedule selected for them, as described in the MLS information events & materials. 

Due to the nature of this experience, there are a limited number of spaces available in the MLS for  10th and 11th grade students.   The 12th grade experience is only open to students who have previously enrolled in the MLS. 

Avenues Tutorials (Grades 11-12)

Avenues Tutorials are an adaptation of the Oxford tutorial model. Avenues Tutorial electives are designed so that students meet once per week in a small group with their teacher. On the other days of the week, the students work independently. The weekly meeting will set up, direct or build on the work students produce. This format is well suited for students who thrive in particularly small group settings, with intensive feedback from peers and instructors, and who enjoy working independently.

Certain courses that are offered in the Avenues Tutorial format will have both advanced and regular options. 

PROGRAM OF STUDIES & COURSE SELECTION 

Graduation Requirements for Upper Grades

The following upper grades (9-12) courses are required for graduation. Students are encouraged to discuss their course selection with their dean. Deans can advise students in light of their college goals. Standard, full-year courses earn a credit value of 1.0 and specific course credit is noted in the Catalog section below. 

• English: 4 credits

• World Course: 3 credits 

• Senior Seminar: 1 credit

• Math: 3 credits

• Science: 3 credits, which must include:

  • Integrated Science 1

  • Integrated Science 2 

  • Biochemistry

• World Language: 4 credits 

• Art and Design: 2 credits, among

  • Performing Arts

  • Visual Arts

  • Design

• HIP Thinking: 1 credits*

• Mastery: 0.5 credits**

• Wellness + Movement (WAM): 4 credits in grades 9-12***

• Grade 10 Electives: 1 credit*

• Grade 11-12 Electives: 3 credits

* Class of 2027 and beyond. Class of 2026 and earlier requires 2 HIP Thinking credits, and Grade 10 Elective is not required. 

** Class of 2025 and beyond; Class of 2027 and beyond will be satisfied via 9th Grade Principles of HIP and Mastery.

*** Class of 2026 and beyond.

Elective Scheduling & Modalities

Below, you will find the Upper Division Program of Studies, broken down by grade level. The sections that follow indicate the required courses, possible yearlong elective courses, and additional Avenues programs and modes of study available to students in each grade.

When choosing electives as part of their schedule, students should be mindful of the distinctions between different elective modes and options. Note that not all elective types will be available to students at all grade levels or in all years, as described in the grade-specific sections below, and individual elective course descriptions in the Catalog section of this Handbook. 

Here is a summary of the different scheduling options and modalities for upper grades electives: 

Electives meet during the school day in set schedule blocks. Students indicate their overall preferences as ranked-choice preferences, and every effort is made to accommodate student requests for these electives. It is not always possible to place students in their top choices, and the final course schedule is determined by the number of sections offered, and if course selections fit into a student's schedule.

Avenues Tutorials are electives that meet once per week in a small group with their teacher during the same schedule block times as other electives. On the other days of the week, the students work independently during the same schedule block. 

Electives outside of the regular school day will meet during Z-Block. For example, Advanced Music is an extra elective offering that runs in the morning Z-Block. 

Grade-Specific Requirements and Course Options

Grade 9

Grade 10

Grade 11

Grade 12