A new school in Chicago is taking a different approach to education, using what they call AI-powered software to teach core subjects like math, science, and reading.
Students at Alpha Chicago in the Lakeshore East neighborhood spend two hours each morning learning core subjects on a computer – like math, science, and reading – using a software program called “2 Hour Learning.”
“At first, I thought it would feel like going on my iPad, but it feels so much more different, like I’m actually learning,” Alpha Chicago student Owen said.
The rest of their day is spent developing real-world skills like sewing, cooking, and navigating public transportation.
Alpha Schools doesn’t use traditional teachers. Instead, classes are led by “guides,” who go by their first names and oversee each group of students.
Most guides don’t have a background in education. A February analysis from the University of Colorado’s National Education Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, reported that only about one-third of Alpha guides have education training or degrees.
Carrington Haas is the lead guide of Alpha Chicago.
“AI is a component of it, but I think truly the impressive and the magic part of Alpha is the way that we are able to teach the life skills,” she said.
The life skills include public speaking, financial literacy, teamwork, and leadership.
Alpha Schools has 1,500 students at 50 campuses across the country. Around 50 students are enrolled in Chicago, but the space can hold up to 500.
The school has a hefty price tag. Tuition for one student costs nearly $55,000.
“It’s a very unusual kind of education that people have misunderstandings about,” said Dr. Brian Howell, the school’s dean of parents.
Howell was an anthropology professor at a college in the west suburbs before taking the job as dean of parents at Alpha Chicago.
He said one family moved states to come here, but most are from the Chicago area.
“We had students move from the North Shore who said, ‘We can’t commute, but we are so committed to this model, and we think this is what is really good for our students,’ so they got a place in the Loop,” Howell said.
But what about families who can’t afford tuition or who live farther away?
“We want to be able to expand this and make it so that it’s not just an exclusive education, because this is a model that we believe can work for everybody,” Howell said.
But an education expert questions whether the artificial intelligence component is really the innovation Alpha is selling.
“I haven’t been able to tell, from what is published online, to what extent is artificial intelligence and what that might look like in a software program for students,” said Charles Tocci, an associate professor of social studies education at Loyola University Chicago.
Tocci said some of Alpha’s approach isn’t necessarily new, pointing to similarities with Montessori education.
He also questioned whether Alpha’s long-term goal is really to run schools or to scale its software.
“They hope to serve a billion students within 20 years, which suggests to me that the goal isn’t necessarily for Alpha School to be successful, but rather their AI software platform,” he said.
Even Owen — who enjoys the new platform — has one criticism.
“One thing I wish was that it sounded more human-like, because it sounds so much like a robot,” he said.
It’s a new kind of classroom, with students still getting used to the concept.
Only in its first year of operation in Chicago, Alpha Schools is looking to expand in the area, having applied for a zoning permit to renovate an old school in Evanston. That is still going through the city approval process.
