April 17, 2025

Dear Avenues Community—our cherished colleagues and families, 

With immense pride and heartfelt gratitude, I write to share a milestone moment for our entire Avenues Shenzhen community: our second graduating class—17 extraordinary students—has received 373 university offers spanning four continents. 

Looking back to 2018, when I arrived in Shenzhen from Avenues New York to plant the very first seed of our vision, the question I was asked most often was: 
“What kind of results can your innovative education really produce?” 

At the time, we were just beginning—with joyful two-year-olds in our Small World program. And yet, even then, we were already imagining a future sixteen years away. 

This journey has not always been easy, but we have always walked it with conviction: 

• In 2019, Avenues opened its doors at the Tanglang campus for the very first time, welcoming over one hundred families into our Early Learning Center. 
• In 2021, our Primary and Secondary Divisions took root, nurtured by pioneering families who were brave enough to “go first.” 
• In 2024, our inaugural graduating class of just six students earned 24 offers from world-class institutions, proving the rich fruits borne from the soil of innovative education. 
• Today, our second graduating class of 17 students has received 373 offers, sending a clear message: this is not a coincidence, but a certainty—Avenues' education nurtures both the natural curiosity of children and supports the dreams of youth. 

I still remember the anxieties that filled last year’s application season, despite all our reassurances. Today, as we look at this stunning list of offers—from Berkeley to NYU, from Dublin to Waseda, from Sydney to Toronto—I want to say: 
This joy belongs to every one of you who chose to believe in Avenues. 

But most importantly: 

You didn’t choose Avenues for a college list—we didn’t have one. Two years ago, we had no graduates to point to—only a shared vision.

You chose Avenues because of our educational philosophy, our interdisciplinary programs, our world-class faculty, our global resources. Perhaps you saw a light in your child’s eyes—a quiet confidence, an emerging independence. That’s what drew you to us—not a destination, but a journey.

At Avenues, we never define success by where students go after graduation. Just like in a garden: 

• Some flowers bloom in spring, some trees ripen in autumn.
• Some plants stretch toward the sun, others thrive in shade.
• But every life deserves to be nurtured with care and intention. 

This is the Avenues promise: We don’t rush growth for the sake of spectacle. We invest in each child’s unique rhythm, nurturing the curiosity, creativity, and resilience that will ultimately carry them into the world. 

So today, I want to say: 

• To our 17 graduates—thank you for writing the next chapter of Avenues Shenzhen with such brilliance. 
• To our faculty and staff—thank you for your tireless dedication and unwavering belief. 
• To our families—thank you for your trust. It is your partnership that gives us the courage to stay true to this path of slow and thoughtful education. 

In the years ahead, when our third class—and our tenth—prepare to graduate, I know I will still say: The most precious part of Avenues has never been college admissions numbers. It’s the light in each child’s life that we’ve helped ignite. 

With deep gratitude and shared purpose,

Angela Xu 
Head of School, Avenues Shenzhen