The school’s reach is expanding fast. Alpha is set to open eight new campuses from California to North Carolina and all the way to Puerto Rico, nearly doubling its number of locations across the country thanks to national expansion plans for fall 2024.
The Model Behind Alpha Schools
Central to Alpha’s philosophy is personalized instruction. Each student’s learning journey is carefully tailored by powerful algorithms that generate individualized study plans and adjust as mastery is achieved.
Lesson time is tightly controlled. Subjects are sliced into brisk 25 minute sessions, with fresh breaks to keep minds clear.
Students learn at their own pace on third party platforms like Synthesis Tutor and Math Academy, in addition to digital tools made by Alpha itself. The goal is for every kid to fully understand one concept before the next challenge arrives.
For families, the cost is steep. Tuition starts at forty thousand dollars per year, pricing Alpha firmly in the luxury education market. Still, its founder MacKenzie Price believes the gains justify the investment, especially for parents hungry for more choice and a shot at a future led by technology.
“If a kid comes to us and is behind, we’re able to help catch them up,” Price explains. “If a kid comes to us who’s been bored in traditional school because they’re more advanced, they’re able to really take the ceiling off.”
In the afternoons, children might find themselves entering a team bike race or even selling lemonade, picking up skills they’ll need long after graduation.
Rather than traditional teachers, Alpha employs guides with salaries that start at one hundred thousand dollars a year. These guides draw on backgrounds in fields like tech and law and are there to coach and motivate students, not to deliver scripted lessons.
Not everyone is convinced by the school’s approach. Critics, including Bryan Proffitt, vice president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, worry that automating instruction and limiting social interaction could leave deep gaps. “Think back to your own high school days. You had your own quirky teacher. They made you reflect on who you are. The idea that machines are going to be able to meet those needs for our kids is absurd,” Proffitt says.
Even so, some parents are eager for a change. Raleigh’s Jesse Miele, who describes existing schools as a “death trap,” said a simulation day at Alpha inspired him. He was struck by how a guide motivated his shy son to reach the top of a climbing wall while blindfolded. “This is about what is best for my children,” Miele said. “If I have the resources to do it, then why wouldn’t I?”
Alpha School’s expansion continues this fall with new campuses opening in Santa Barbara, New York City, Charlotte, and Houston. Although some sites have been delayed due to space adjustments, families in cities like Scottsdale, San Francisco, and Miami are already enrolled in the program, a sign of business leaders urging early AI education in US schools.
