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The private school company says AI handles academics so classroom “guides” can focus on the students.
A private school that replaces traditional classroom teachers with artificial intelligence (AI) plans to open three Massachusetts campuses this fall.
In September, Alpha School, a private school network based in Texas, plans to open locations in Boston, Lexington, and Jamaica Plain for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, according to the Boston Business Journal.
Instead of traditional lessons, the school has students complete personalized coursework using AI-powered educational software, with classroom “guides” taking the place of licensed teachers.
Tuition is expected to run around $65,000 annually for each student, with an expected enrollment of 25 to 40 students per Massachusetts campus during its first year, according to Alpha’s website.
The company currently operates a dozen schools in multiple states and is expanding locations. Alpha School Co-Founder MacKenzie Price said the AI-led learning model is the future of education.
“For too long, we’ve been asking the wrong question,” Price said in a press release announcing a documentary about AI’s growing role in the classroom. “People keep asking whether AI will replace teachers. That’s not what’s happening. AI is taking over repetitive administrative work so teachers can spend more time doing what only humans can do — building relationships, inspiring confidence, coaching students through challenges and helping them become capable, resilient people.”
According to Alpha, its classroom guides include former teachers, athletic coaches, entrepreneurs, and Ivy League graduates. The company says some guides earn more than $100,000 annually, and more than 80,000 applicants applied for the job last year.
Students spend about two hours each morning completing individualized lessons through adaptive learning software that adjusts to each child’s mastery of a subject, according to the company. The rest of the day is devoted to “life skills,” including group projects, public speaking, athletics, field trips, and internships.
The learning model has drawn criticism from some educators and researchers, who question whether AI can replace the expertise of licensed teachers. Others have raised concerns about the limited independent research on AI-led instruction, the amount of screen time, and the long-term effects of the approach.
The Boston and Jamaica Plain campuses received approval from the Boston School Committee earlier this summer after officials determined Alpha met state educational requirements. Lexington’s school committee is still mulling the proposal, according to the Lexington Observer, making it unclear whether that location will open in time for the start of the fall semester.
Alpha also announced research partnerships with MIT’s Blueprint Labs and Harvard’s Human Flourishing Lab to study aspects of its educational model, according to the Boston Business Journal.
Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.
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