{"id":223702,"date":"2025-10-18T22:11:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T22:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/223702\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T22:11:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T22:11:04","slug":"inside-san-franciscos-new-ai-school-is-this-the-future-of-us-education-artificial-intelligence-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/223702\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside San Francisco\u2019s new AI school: is this the future of US education? | Artificial intelligence (AI)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the world\u2019s tech innovation epicenter, an \u201cAI-powered\u201d private school has made headlines<\/a> for unabashedly embracing the technology.<\/p>\n

Alpha School San Francisco<\/a>, which opened its doors to K-8 students this fall, is the newest outpost of a network of 14 nationwide private schools. Its learning model entails just two hours of focused academic work per day, during which the school says students can learn twice as fast as their counterparts in traditional schools \u2013 with the help of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

AI, Alpha says, is central to the school\u2019s learning philosophy, brand and impact on students.<\/p>\n

Alpha is not alone in its efforts to incorporate AI into the classroom. Around the US, schools are experimenting with AI as a tool that can assist teachers with curriculum development, identify learning trends, and even boost student engagement.<\/p>\n

But the strong emphasis on AI in schools such as Alpha and its claims of success \u2013 as well as the eye-popping annual tuition cost of some of them \u2013 give researchers of education and technology pause, even though they agree AI has an important and inevitable role to play in the future of pedagogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is evidence that AI could have exciting applications in education, but at same time, we\u2019ve seen educational experiments that do not work well for kids in the past, including those pushed by tech folks,\u201d said Emma Pierson, assistant professor of computer science at the University of California<\/a>, Berkeley, and an affiliate of the university\u2019s Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab. Pierson, who describes herself as a \u201ccautious optimist\u201d when it comes to AI, says there needs to be more critical, objective research into AI\u2019s implications on students of all backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cCareful evaluation of these programs is really key.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpha School\u2019s website<\/a> suggests a futuristic learning model: AI tools make it so that students only need to spend two hours a day on traditional subjects such as history and math. This is done individually, on screens, using software that adapts to students\u2019 unique paces and learning styles. The rest of the day is dedicated to learning life skills, which is done through creative activities \u2013 such as designing, permitting, and operating a food truck \u2013 that promote teamwork, social skills and financial literacy. Instead of receiving instruction from teachers, students are supervised by \u201cguides\u201d who coach them through an otherwise self-directed process.<\/p>\n

These elements aren\u2019t completely novel pedagogical approaches, experts said. Take the number of hours devoted to traditional schoolwork. Between working on group projects, socializing, and taking breaks, students at traditional schools spend on average the same amount of time focussed on core curriculum requirements, explained Ying Xu, assistant professor of education at Harvard University.<\/p>\n

Self-directed learning models, too, also have long tenures. Xu herself sent her son to a Montessori school because of the adaptive, customizable, independence-fostering model it offered. \u201cA lot of schools have been using this kind of strategy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Some of the software Alpha is using has been widely used in public and private educational settings for years to create personalized learning pathways, said Chris Agnew, director of Stanford University\u2019s Generative AI for Education Hub. This includes programs from IXL<\/a> and Math Academy<\/a>. Historically, the schools also assigned work through Khan Academy<\/a> and Duolingo.<\/p>\n

Alpha says other apps are new \u2013 it is developing and deploying new software through the network\u2019s affiliated brand, 2 Hour Learning, with<\/a> more than half of students\u2019 app-based learning done via proprietary software.<\/p>\n

That proprietary software tracks all student learning and is able to offer students lessons at the right pace and correct grade levels, the school says, allowing it to truly tailor lessons to every kid\u2019s needs, including by correcting learning gaps, going slower on some materials and faster on others or tailoring the learning materials towards children\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re leading with AI because they\u2019re riding the wave, and it\u2019s drawing lots of attentionChris Agnew<\/p>\n

AI\u2019s primary use therefore appears to be as a tool to help Alpha\u2019s guides understand how \u2013 and how quickly \u2013 students are learning, so that the material they are given is at the appropriate level, the experts said. \u201cAI is brought in as a layer that helps understand the students\u2019 pacing and then make suggestions on what might be best next,\u201d Agnew explained. \u201cMost of the learning AI is not student-facing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not exactly a non-stop conversation with a personalized ChatGPT bot,\u201d echoed Victor Lee, associate professor at Stanford\u2019s Graduate School of Education. Alpha confirmed that chatbots play no role in their pedagogy.<\/p>\n

In that sense, Alpha\u2019s relationship with technology doesn\u2019t stray unrecognizably far from what Americans are used to seeing in elementary school classrooms. Screens are used, but not constantly; apps are assigned, but not without supervision. Perhaps most importantly, a qualified adult is present in every classroom, fostering some level of interpersonal learning \u2013 which Agnew says should remain a vital part of the school experience. The primary difference is that whereas teachers have historically been considered subject-matter experts who direct from a podium, at Alpha, they are coaches in the field. \u201cThere are still adults in the room that know the kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Agnew wonders whether the AI component of the school is being deliberately played up to attract parents and students who fear that their children could miss the AI boat \u2013 and to generate profit. \u201cThey\u2019re leading with AI because they\u2019re riding the wave, and it\u2019s drawing lots of attention,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When it comes to personnel, Alpha is well positioned to capitalize on the AI boom. The brand\u2019s founder, education podcaster and social media influencer MacKenzie Price, is married to software executive Andrew Price. He works alongside Texas billionaire Joe Liemandt, who is principal of Alpha Schools. Hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman<\/a> is said to be an informal Alpha ambassador. Families who send their students to the San Francisco school run in elite circles, too \u2013 by necessity, since it has the highest tuition of any private school in the city<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 2 Hour Learning website<\/a> states that Alpha students consistently score in the top 1-2% nationally and claims that 90% of Alpha students love going to school. But Alpha\u2019s demographics can cloud assessments of whether Alpha\u2019s methods improve learning outcomes at a near-universal rate, experts worry. For one thing, students from such unusually affluent backgrounds likely have access to other resources that prime them for academic success. Plus, the parents having selected Alpha suggests a high level of engagement with their children\u2019s education, which is another indicator for achievement.<\/p>\n

Alpha rejects criticisms that the school\u2019s high achievement record is because students are from highly resourced backgrounds, and says its model has the potential to improve academic achievement for all students.<\/p>\n

Experts caution there\u2019s a lot left to study, and that there\u2019s no one perfect pedagogy that works for every child.<\/p>\n

At Harvard, Xu\u2019s own research shows that learning with AI can lead to very different outcomes depending on an individual\u2019s disposition. Children who are more self-directed and confident in their abilities are more likely to use AI to enhance their understanding of materials, she said, while those who lack confidence are more likely to use AI to generate answers and circumvent critical thinking. That means a student who is \u201cintrinsically less motivated to learn might suffer in that setting\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like with Montessori schools, the format doesn\u2019t work for all students,\u201d said Xu. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t abandon direct instruction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rose Wang, a researcher at OpenAI whose PhD looked at machine-learning applications in educational settings, raised questions about whether an app-based curriculum can serve all learners equally, especially as K-8 students are still developing foundational skills. She says those core skills \u2013 such as reading, writing, and math \u2013 are going to be extremely important for children growing up in the AI era as a means of ensuring they know how to engage with these new technologies critically and effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis model for schooling would probably work really well for kids who are quite advanced already,\u201d Wang said, noting that younger students as well as students who need more learning assistance respond well to in-person, collaborative methods, like solving a math problem on a whiteboard alongside classmates. \u201cWhile our AI systems are really great in many ways, this kind of collaborative learning and teaching environments [is] really difficult to translate seamlessly into an automated interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

To truly know how broadly applicable the method is \u2013 and for whom it works \u2013 experts say more rigorous study is needed. Pierson, flagging risks like AI hallucinations and algorithmic bias, suggests developing a small pilot with a randomized control trial before scaling the model. (Alpha says that their proprietary apps have been developed in such a way that eliminates the possibility of AI hallucinations.)<\/p>\n

Lee calls for scrutiny into privilege and equitable access \u2013 issues that are top of mind in a city with vast wealth gaps like San Francisco. \u201cWho gets to do it, where are the resources coming from, and what advantages are already at the back of these programs like Alpha School?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Other Alpha campuses offer financial aid, including at the site in Brownsville, Texas, where the $10,000 per year tuition is heavily subsidized. With just 10 students actively enrolled (and 25 total families having put down deposits for their children to enroll between 2025 and 2026), Alpha says the San Francisco campus can\u2019t yet afford to offer financial aid.<\/p>\n

At the same time, experts warn against over-regulating education in a way that discourages experimentation. This is especially important at a time when technology is advancing apace, they said, and young people need to be given opportunities to engage with it in a way that is meaningful. \u201cWe do want to have the latitude to try different things, and I think that schools and teachers would like that as well,\u201d Lee said, pointing to school districts doing just that.<\/p>\n

In Washington, Peninsula school district is investigating how AI can make learning experiences more inclusive; in Orange county, the superintendent has hired AI experts to guide schools into how best to incorporate the technology into classrooms; and across California, public schools are integrating AI literacy into their curricula within the state mandated digital media literacy requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cFiguring out new ways to get students excited about learning, learning better, and learning faster is something to always be welcomed,\u201d Wang said.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, Agnew says, improvements to the current system are necessary \u2013 and AI is inevitably going to be a part of that conversation. For educators and policymakers, the challenge will be cutting through the noise to ensure AI\u2019s benefits in the classroom outweigh its risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the barrage of products being sold \u2026 it\u2019s really hard to make decisions grounded in what\u2019s right for kids and what\u2019s good for learning,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not an option for schools to ignore AI.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the world\u2019s tech innovation epicenter, an \u201cAI-powered\u201d private school has made headlines for unabashedly embracing the technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-223702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}