Alpha School
Alpha School is a chain of private schools in Texas and Florida, including accredited and non-accredited schools.[1] The school's model is to offer two hours of academic learning each day using "AI tutors", while the rest of the day is dedicated to developing life skills.[2]
History and founders
[edit]Alpha School originally branched off Acton Academy, a franchise of microschools.[3] Alpha School was founded by MacKenzie Price and her husband Andrew Price. MacKenzie Price graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in Psychology.[4] Before founding Alpha School for her own children in 2014 and establishing its original campus in 2016, Price worked for a mortgage lender company, retiring from that career in 2018.[5][6]
2 Hour Learning platform
[edit]Alpha School uses their "2 Hour Learning" platform. This is a collection of AI-driven apps owned by Trilogy Software, a division of Trilogy Enterprises, headed by Joe Liemandt. MacKenzie Price's husband and co-founder, Andrew Price, is the chief financial officer at Trilogy and at the related investment company, ESW Capital.[7]
The apps teach students all core courses without human teachers, in two hours. For example, the app to improve writing proficiency, Alphawrite, was created by Eigen Consulting as a tutor based on the Common Core curriculum that gives students personalized writing lessons and activities of increasing difficulty, in which students write essays and the app provides feedback on the essays.[8]
Academic performance and outcomes
[edit]Alpha School claims students learn faster in this program than in traditional schools. However, the claims are based on NWEA's Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments with data only available to the school. No claims have been independently verified by disinterested third parties.[9]
Locations and related schools
[edit]The Alpha School co-founders and ESW Capital have implemented the use of the Trilogy-owned 2 Hour Learning apps to their other schools:
- Alpha School and Alpha High School private schools in Austin, the first two campuses, for grades pre-kindergarten and 4–8, and grades 9–12 respectively
- Alpha Brownsville, in Brownsville, Texas, private school for grades pre-kindergarten–8
- GT School, a private school for gifted and talented students in grades kindergarten–8 in Georgetown, Texas[10] and headed by Timothy Eyerman who is affiliated with Alpha School[11]
- Lake Travis Sports Academy, an Austin-based private school with a focus on athletics and physical sports, for grades kindergarten–8[12]
- NextGen Academy, a private school in Austin for grades 5–8 that focuses on competing in video games like Minecraft, Fortnite, and Overwatch, and developing video games[13]
- Novatio School, private Arizona school, launched by Ivy Xu's Toronto-based Prequel, an education company that partners with the 2 Hour Learning platform[14]
- Unbound Academic Institute was a charter school proposed for Pennsylvania by Timothy Eyerman; the state rejected the application[7]
- Unbound Academy, a wholly-online charter school in Arizona for grades 4–8, launched by Ivy Xu's Toronto-based Prequel education company and using the 2 Hour Learning platform as well as software by IXL Learning, Khan Academy, and Amplify[7][15]
- Valenta Academy, a private microschool opening in August 2025 in Bastrop, Texas, and a proposed charter school in Pennsylvania, this school uses the 2 Hour Learning model and like GT School is headed by Timothy Eyerman[16][17]
Critical views and controversies
[edit]Founder MacKenzie Price hosts the Future of Education podcast to promote Alpha School and other related enterprises. The Trilogy CEO used the Future of Education LLC, which had been created the day before, as a shell corporation to funnel $1 million to Glenn Youngkin's gubernatorial campaign.[7][10]
There are reports of concerns about the governance structure of Alpha School and the related schools. For example, at Unbound Academy the board members are all affiliated with 2 Hour Learning, Trilogy Enterprises, and Crossover Markets, each which serve as vendors for the school, which can present conflicts of interest.[18]
Another criticism is that the claims of academic growth have not been independently verified, and they rely on internal metrics from the schools themselves. Similarly, there is a lack of peer-reviewed studies validating the effectiveness of the 2-Hour Learning approach, and no independent research has been done to discover if any student successes are directly related to the program (and thus could be applied in other settings) or if there are other factors leading to that success.[9]
A final criticism is cost: Most Alpha School campuses charge $40,000 per year for tuition.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cobler, Nicole (May 28, 2024). "Axios: Alpha School expands in Austin". Axios. Retrieved April 11, 2025 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Hart, Jordan (June 7, 2024). "AI is coming to your kid's classroom, and teachers can't wait". Insider. Retrieved April 11, 2025 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Strong, Michael. "The Rise of Niche Educational Entrepreneurship". Foundation for Economic Education. Archived from the original on April 10, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ "Advisory Board: 'MacKenzie Price'". The Center for Education and Public Service. University of Austin. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ "MacKenzie Price - Mentoring a Marriage". Shiloh Coleman. Archived from the original on April 10, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Barbarin, Janaye (June 1, 2024). "MacKenzie Price: Changing the Future of Education". Austin Woman. Archived from the original on April 10, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Greene, Peter (January 17, 2025). "Texas Businesswoman Wants to Open AI-Driven, Teacherless Cyber Charter School in Pennsylvania". Bucks County Beacon. Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ "'Eigen & Trilogy' case study" (PDF). Eigen. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c Sitrin, Carly (January 24, 2025). "Two AI-powered charter schools could soon open in Pennsylvania". Chalkbeat. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ a b Monacelli, Steven; Gatsby, Goad (July 18, 2023). "$1M Donation to Glenn Youngkin Linked to Associates of Austin Area Billionaire Investor". Texas Observer. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Archer, Abbey (July 30, 2024). "New private school offers 2 Hour Learning model". The Williamson County Sun. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Dickens, Grace (November 7, 2024). "Texas Sports Academy now open in Hudson Bend area". Community Impact. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Young, Chloe (February 25, 2025). "NextGen Academy uses esports, artificial intelligence to provide accelerated learning opportunities". Community Impact. Archived from the original on April 10, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Pacelli, Bri (March 10, 2025). "AI-powered learning program launches in Arizona". KGUN Channel 9 Tucson. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Sawers, Paul (December 20, 2024). "Arizona's getting an online charter school taught entirely by AI". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on March 11, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Cutshall, Amanda (December 27, 2024). "Valenta Academy to bring new way of learning to Bastrop children". Community Impact. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Stalnecker, Ashley (February 27, 2025). "School District of Lancaster recommends board reject AI-driven charter school application". Lancaster Online. Archived from the original on March 12, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Meyer, Dan. "The Truth About 2 Hour Learning & Unbound Academy a/k/a The School "Replacing Teachers with AI"". Mathworlds. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
External links
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