The sports-centric academies will allow students to receive athletic training while completing their academic coursework through an artificial intelligence platform known as 2 Hour Learning.
The overview
The following Texas Sports Academy campuses recently opened in in Community Impact's coverage area:
AIE Elite Prep
- Opened: mid-October
- Address: 2001 N. Kenney Fort Blvd., Round Rock
- Specialty area: basketball
- Grades served: 6-8
- Opened: mid-October
- Address: 2626 W. Sam Houston Parkway N., Houston
- Specialty area: baseball
- Grades served: 6-12
Catching Barrels Academy
- Opening date: January
- Address: Pearland (location coming soon)
- Speciality area: baseball
- Grades served: 4-8
- Opening date: January
- Address: 11275 S. Sam Houston Parkway W., Houston
- Specialty area: basketball
- Grades served: 4-8
- Opening: January
- 14242 Cross Canyon, San Antonio
- Specialty area: gymnastics
- Grades served: 5-8
- Opening date: fall 2026
- Address: Lago Vista (location coming soon)
- Specialty: competitive cheer
- Grades served: 5-8
The background
Alpha School co-founder MacKenzie Price started Alpha School in 2014 to provide students with individually tailored, accelerated instruction and opportunities to build life skills beyond the classroom, Price told Community Impact last year. Students complete their academic learning in two hours each day using 2 Hour Learning.
The AI platform allows students to learn at their own pace and advance multiple grade levels in different subjects based on their performance. Price said the Alpha School model enables students to learn twice as fast as they would in a traditional school setting.
After completing their academic coursework, students may participate in workshops focused on developing life skills, such as entrepreneurship, leadership, public speaking and financial literacy. Last school year, Alpha School opened three specialized academies, including a GT School for gifted and talented students in Georgetown, esports school NextGen Academy in Northwest Austin, and the first Texas Sports Academy in the Lake Travis area.
In case you missed it
In September, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Alpha School in Austin alongside Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. McMahon, who became secretary of education in March, said she was excited to observe Alpha School’s AI model and see how it could change how other schools in the nation operate.
“It's the most exciting thing I've seen in education in a long time,” McMahon said about Alpha School. “I'm incredibly enthusiastic about this.”
