Illinois’ First Teacher-Free, AI School Just Opened In Chicago

Would you pay $55,000 for your child to attend an AI school?

If you thought the days of sending kids to school to sit in front of a teacher were going to last forever, you may want to pay attention to what's happening in Chicago.

Alpha Chicago opened this week as the city's first AI-driven, “teacher-free” school. And if you're wondering what it costs to send your child to this possible glimpse of the future, the answer is a shocking $55,000 a year.

The private school, located at 350 E. South Water Street, serves students from Pre-K through eighth grade. Its educational philosophy is built around what Alpha calls its “two-hour learning” model.

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Let's Take A Look At How It All Works

According to the school's website, students use personalized, AI-powered software to complete their core academic work in about two hours.

Instead of spending the rest of the school day sitting through traditional classes, they move on to things like public speaking, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, leadership, teamwork, creative problem-solving, and physical activity.

And despite the “teacher-free” description, it's not just a bunch of kids being turned loose with computers. Alpha employs adults it calls “Guides.”

Their job is to mentor students, monitor their progress, provide motivation and help with things like leadership and emotional development. The idea is that AI handles the routine academic instruction while humans concentrate on the things humans supposedly do best.

It's certainly an interesting concept. If a kid can master the same academic material in two hours that traditionally takes much of a school day, why not use the extra time to teach kids things they'll actually need as adults?

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The Big Question In All Of This Is...

Does learning faster necessarily mean learning better?

And that's something we're not going to know simply by looking at Alpha's promotional material. Chicago's campus is brand new, so we're going to need years of watching these students to know whether this revolutionary approach produces kids who are better educated, more independent and better prepared for the real world.

I'm fascinated by the concept. I'm also really glad someone else is paying $55,000 a year to be part of the experiment.

Because if this really is the future of education, I'd love to know.

I'd just prefer to see the results before enrolling my kid.