As artificial intelligence is seen more in workplaces across the country, The Alpha School located in The Woodlands, created a curriculum bridging that technology, academics and life skills for students from pre-K-high school that introduces students to a unique way of learning. (Kara Willis/Community Impact)
Alpha School students engage with a guide in the classroom. (Courtesy Alpha School) Alpha School
As artificial intelligence is seen more in workplaces across the country, The Alpha School located in The Woodlands, created a curriculum bridging that technology, academics and life skills for pre-K through high school that introduces students to a unique way of learning.
The framework
Based in Austin, Texas, The Alpha School has campuses across the country, including one in The Woodlands that opened in the fall of this year.
Class sizes are kept small, with The Woodlands location accepting a maximum of 65 students and the school already reaching enrollment of more than 50 students, Price said.
Alpha students are still receiving lessons in core subjects such as math, reading, science and history, but they will only move forward once they fully understand the subject, according to the website.
Cofounder for The Alpha School, MacKenzie Price, said the school is redefining what families expect out of their child’s private school education, noting 40%-60% of Alpha School students say they’d rather go to school than vacation.
“The reason we think that's so important is because when kids love school, it allows us to help them do hard challenging things,” Price said. “Additionally, from an academic perspective, we use an artificial intelligence learning platform to provide one-on-one, mastery-based tutoring that meets every single child [at] the exact level and pace that's right for them, and as a result, our students are able to learn twice as much [with] only two hours of academic schooling per day compared to the rest of the country, which spends six-plus hours doing that.”
More details
Price said one component of the school that has been attractive to parents is after instruction, for the rest of the afternoon, teachers–known as guides at the school—help children develop life skills. The school curriculum was created based on five essential life skills:
Teamwork and leadership
Storytelling and public speaking
Entrepreneurship and financial literacy
Relationship building and socialization
Grit and hard work
Guides are also used in a nontraditional way compared to the average teacher in the U.S. school system, allowing students to get one-on-one attention through AI use in the classroom to meet students at the exact level and pace they need, Price said.
“That's what our academic platform does ... we're using AI to not only very precisely and accurately assess what a student knows and what a student doesn't know, but then build a personalized lesson plan based on the same curriculum that students in a traditional classroom ...The reason that we're seeing so much success with regard to our academic outcomes, why we're seeing kids love school so much, is because we've transformed that role of the teacher in the classroom,” Price said.
Instead of focusing on creating lesson plans, delivering lectures and grading papers, guides are able to focus on motivational and emotional support while getting to know each student. It has allowed them to be able to instill human intelligence through academic excellence for each student and allowing students time to connect with adults and peers in their classrooms, Price said.
What else?
Outside of in-classroom studies, workshops are also offered to students that align with the different life skills the curriculum models:
Alpha Mad Scientists
Alpha Animation
Lyrical Genius
Consultants
How to Buy Stuff
Now You See Me
Price said the school is already expanding and has plans to move into another space by the end of this school year or next fall, adding that families made it known that The Alpha School is something parents wanted for The Woodlands. A new campus will be opening in January in the Houston area.
“I think that families should have the ability to have access to lots of different types of schools to find out what's right for their children,” Price said. “We were really thrilled with the fact that The Woodlands has been just so open and inviting.”
Stay tuned
Price said she’s excited to continue expanding and providing students a way to learn that they enjoy and can use in the real world.
“The culture at our schools is one where we really are encouraging kids to build a culture where they're uplifting others, where they're holding high community standards ... I think what we do is part of that is we give kids a real sense of ownership over their community and their culture,” Price said. “What we find is when kids are given that sense of ownership, they'll end up holding each other and themselves to a higher standard.”
To learn more about The Alpha School, visit its website here.
