Alpha School Brings AI-Driven K-8 Campus to Santa Monica

The campus at 3002 Main Street rejects the standard lecture-heavy approach in favor of a compressed academic schedule. Students dedicate two hours each morning to core subjects through AI-powered software that adjusts to individual progress, allowing children to advance based on subject mastery rather than time spent at a desk. The remainder of the day is structured around workshops focused on entrepreneurship, public speaking, and leadership.

Co-founder MacKenzie Price frames this expansion as a response to a growing national shift among families who find traditional education models too rigid. Instead of traditional teachers, the school employs "guides" tasked with coaching and social-emotional development. While the model claims to optimize the learning experience by eliminating downtime, it remains a premium, high-cost alternative in a competitive private education market, with applications currently open for the 2026-2027 academic year.