Alpha School, a new private school located in Chantilly, VA, opened its doors on Oct. 13, 2025. The school brings an unconventional approach to education for elementary students— by blending adaptive artificial intelligence technology with hands-on experiences, it claims a bold alternative to a traditional classroom learning.
The blended model combines adaptive AI technology that personalizes core academic instruction with in person project based activities that focus on real world skills. This includes collaboration, problem-solving and creativity.
“If the experience can truly prepare my child for the future, I think it’s something to seriously consider,” said Chandra Sandhu, a local resident in Chantilly.
In Alpha School, students spend just two hours each morning mastering core subjects such as math and reading through adaptive, AI-based technology.
Many students express skepticism about this new learning theory.
“Students need a mentor or a teacher to learn, What if they have questions, different learning styles or just need someone to talk to? Has AI really reached that level yet?” senior Jad Osta said.
Following the initial two hours, the rest of the day is devoted to what the school calls “Life Skills.” This includes courses such as entrepreneurship, robotics, coding, design and public thinking.
Unlike most traditional schools, the private school doesn’t have any classroom teachers. Instead, it employs “guides,” who serve as coaches and mentors rather than lecturers.
According to Alpha School’s website, this personalized approach allows students to “learn twice as much in half the time,” also claiming that it causes their students to grow 2.6 times faster than the national standardized benchmarks.
“AI can work, but only with the help of teachers. Students learn in different ways, and AI can only teach in one,” sophomore Lucas Van Order said.
Tuition at the Chantilly campus remains at a steep price, $65,000 per year, putting the private school among the most expensive elementary school programs in the region.
“Although AI can help people in school, I feel as though $65,000 is a mindblowing amount for one year of school,” freshman Henry Conrad said.
Despite the cost, the school states the enrollment interest has been strong, especially among parents in tech driven areas like Reston, Centreville and Fairfax.
“AI needs to prove itself more before making an impact in students’ education,” Van Order said.
