Alpha School's push into Massachusetts public schools stalls, WBUR finds

Massachusetts Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike helped introduce Alpha School's AI-driven teaching model to public school districts this summer, but a planned pilot in Springfield never launched, WBUR reports, based on interviews and public records.

In June, Zrike emailed about a dozen superintendents inviting them to a virtual presentation on the company's model. "While the model is not without controversy, I have attended several sessions with the Alpha team and found their approach thought-provoking," he wrote. At Alpha's private schools, students spend roughly two hours a day on academics through AI-powered software and can be recorded throughout the day. In a statement, Zrike said his office regularly connects districts with outside organisations and that local leaders decide whether to proceed.

The Springfield Empowerment Zone planned a fall pilot at Kiley Prep middle school, with Alpha providing its software at no cost. According to WBUR, the data-sharing agreement was still under legal review when Alpha sought to install software on 30 school computers, some parents learned of the plan only the night before classes began, and the Greater Springfield NAACP raised questions about consent and student privacy. The pilot did not start after a district-wide cyberattack closed schools for four days, and the zone's co-executive director said it will not launch this school year. This follows the local teachers' union's call for a moratorium on classroom AI.

Alpha told WBUR it has no public school programs underway or in development in Massachusetts and "no plans to launch any in the near future." "Our focus in Massachusetts is on our private school," a spokesperson said.