Alpha School Virginia just opened its doors with a bold pitch: kids only need two hours of AI-guided lessons a day to learn twice as fast. The catch? Parents are paying $65,000 a year for the privilege.

While some families are sold on the promise of efficiency, critics say the program sounds more like education-lite. “School isn’t just about checking off math and reading boxes — it’s about social growth and learning how to live in the real world,” one education researcher told Issues & Insights.

The Texas-based private school, now expanding into Virginia, claims its tech-driven approach frees kids from homework, long lectures, and wasted time. Students work through AI-powered tasks, then spend the rest of the day on “passion projects.”

Skeptics, though, question whether shrinking the school day and replacing traditional teaching with algorithms shortchanges students. “You can’t outsource childhood to a computer,” one parent remarked.

As a concept, Alpha Schools acknowledges that there is a category of student for whom this doesn’t work for, which essentially comes down to engagement and motivation. This is where the student guides come in. The guides “motivate” and “emotionally support” students in their non-instruction activities which include life skills workshops, creative field trips and hands-on activities.

Founder of GauntletAI.com and parent of an Alpha school student shared a photo of his son to X, quoting his son’s request to keep doing school rather than join dad for a movie.

Ethan Mollick, a Professor at Wharton who studies AI, is not quite ready to jump on board with the promises made by Alpha Schools when it comes to AI tutoring:

The AI-powered school and others like it have drawn heavy criticism asking whether the cutting edge technology churning out impressive test scores, leaves behind essential elements of education in social and emotional realm. (RELATED: $609M Shock: Virginians Pay Price for ‘Clean’ Energy Push)

John Mac Ghlionn of The American Spectator asks readers to consider the consequences of the one dimensional embrace of great test scores via AI-schools in his recent article:

“Consider what’s being lost. Traditional education, however flawed, forces children to grapple with boredom, frustration, and the awkward social hierarchies of the classroom.” While mainstream educators are busy dealing with DEI policies and Title IX battles, microschools like Alpha School are busy expanding across the U.S. to meet the demand for alternative education options.

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