New $65,000 private school uses AI to teach students just two hours a day

At Alpha School campuses, which have been opening since 2025 in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Manhattan's Financial District, students spend only two hours a day studying languages, mathematics, natural sciences, and history - clicking through lessons on tablets and laptops. Instead of teachers, "guides" walk around the classrooms - adults who help children with motivation but do not answer specific questions about the academic material.

The rest of the day, students devote to "life skills workshops": climbing 40-foot climbing walls, assembling IKEA furniture, or solving a Rubik's Cube. At some schools, nine- and ten-year-old children manage Airbnbs or food trucks, while high school students participate in Spartan Races.

Students follow the Pomodoro method: 25 minutes of studying on a tablet, then a five-minute break, another 25 minutes - and a 15-minute break, and so on for up to two hours. If a student gets a question wrong more than three times, the system suggests reviewing past lessons or watching a video on the topic. Raising a hand to ask a teacher is not allowed - because there is no teacher.

Currently, 22 Alpha schools are operating across the country, and a new campus is preparing to open in Chicago in the fall of 2026. It is expected to enroll 50 students from kindergarten through 8th grade. There are also plans to create a public charter school, Unbound Academy, in Arizona - Alpha's first foray into the public education system.