Chicago's Alpha School opens without teachers, charges $55,000 annually
Alpha School, a network of AI-based private schools, is opening a K-8 campus in Chicago's Loop this fall with no traditional teachers on staff. The school will charge $55,000 per year and serve about 100 students initially.
Instead of teachers, the school employs "guides"-staff members without education credentials who motivate students and supervise workshops. AI-powered software delivers core academic lessons in two-hour blocks each morning. The rest of the day consists of electives like robotics and obstacle courses.
Founder MacKenzie Price says the model allows for personalized learning tailored to each student's pace. "AI is going to help us unlock the greatest untapped resource in our world, which is human potential," Price said in a recent visit to Chicago.
Alpha opened in Austin, Texas, in 2014 and now operates nearly two dozen locations across the U.S., enrolling more than 1,000 students total.
The case for AI-driven schooling
Parents enrolling children cite rapid academic progress. Sarah Cone, a venture capitalist, enrolled her 8-year-old daughter at Alpha's Manhattan campus in the fall. Within a few months, her daughter advanced two grade levels in reading and math, Cone said.
Blake Mohseni, a finance professional in Bloomingdale, plans to enroll his daughter when she turns 4. "I'm a firm believer that this is the future," Mohseni said. "At the end of the day, the writing is on the wall, and you gotta evolve or be left behind."
Price argues that skepticism reflects resistance to innovation in education. She acknowledges that Alpha's student body skews toward families with resources but notes that more than 40% of students at the Texas flagship school receive financial aid. Alpha applied for charter status in 10 states, which would have made tuition free, but was rejected in all but one.
Questions from education researchers
Academics raise concerns about the lack of outside research validating Alpha's approach. Victor Lee, an associate professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education, said there is "virtually no outside research on the academic outcomes of Alpha's AI-driven software."
Alpha touts that its students score in the 99th percentile on Northwest Evaluation Association MAP Growth tests. But Lee cautioned that this comparison is complicated. Most MAP test-takers attend public schools, while Alpha serves families who can afford $55,000 tuition. "This is a private school with tuition, and therefore tends to cater to a particular socioeconomic status, whose students would tend to perform very strongly on these measures," Lee said.
Joe Vukov, an associate philosophy professor at Loyola University Chicago who studies AI ethics, expressed concern about removing human relationships from education. "I worry that you're changing the nature of what learning and education, at its best, has always looked like," Vukov said.
Price counters that guides serve as mentors and motivators. "We're not replacing teachers. The role is just changing," she said. "Our teachers don't need to be subject matter experts."
Political dimensions
Alpha's expansion coincides with the Trump administration's push for school choice through federal voucher programs. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon toured Alpha's Austin campus in September and was "very complimentary of what she saw," Price said.
The visit drew criticism from public school advocates. Pankaj Sharma, secretary-treasurer of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, questioned whether the voucher program would fund such schools. "Exorbitant tuition for a school with a MAGA founder, no teachers … No thank you," Sharma said.
Price has donated more than $2 million since 2023 to Republican candidates and political action committees promoting school choice, according to The Washington Post. Alpha and Price have said they are apolitical and have no ties to the Trump administration.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is currently weighing whether to opt into the federal voucher initiative, which offers dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations to scholarship-granting nonprofits. Critics say the program diverts funds from public schools.
Expansion plans
Nearly a dozen new Alpha campuses are opening in the fall amid what Price describes as surging demand. Mohseni hopes a second Chicago-area location will open by the time his daughter reaches kindergarten.
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