New Private School Opening in Santa Monica, Emphasizing AI Learning

A private school, costing $65,000 yearly, is set to open in Santa Monica next month, focusing on AI as a key element of education, potentially surpassing traditional elite schools in the area.

“We’re outperforming top private schools like Harvard-Westlake,” stated Anna Davalantes, the president of Alpha Schools. She mentioned, in an interview, that Alpha achieves these results without selectively admitting the highest-performing students.

The school is encouraging parents to invest a significant amount for their children to learn at an accelerated pace—twice as fast as those in conventional schools—using just two hours of AI-led lessons each morning.

Instead of standard lectures, students engage with personalized AI technology, making the learning process unique and tailored. Traditional teachers have been replaced by “mentors,” whom Davalantes notes don’t need formal teaching credentials. Many come from different professional backgrounds, such as tech startups or sports coaching.

According to reports, Alpha outperforms prestigious schools like Harvard-Westlake in testing scores, including SAT and ACT results, despite its less selective admission process.

The school structure involves academics in the morning, followed by practical workshops that teach vital life skills such as financial literacy and teamwork in the afternoons. Alpha is starting with a small group of 30 families to experiment with its innovative approach.

At Alpha, “guides” replace traditional educators. These guides typically earn around $150,000 a year and spend significant time helping children set and achieve personal as well as academic goals.

Alpha’s unique AI system customizes lesson plans, presenting individual questions to each student, ensuring mastery before advancing to the next grade.

Derek Bergman, one of the guides, mentioned that their role is to maintain students in their “Goldilocks zone”—a space where challenges are just right, neither too difficult nor too simple.

Amid concerns about over-reliance on technology in classrooms—citing risks such as social anxiety and depression—Bergman holds that “technology is a tool,” and its impact heavily relies on how it is utilized.

The innovative model has garnered attention from federal officials, including Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who highlighted the importance of responsibly harnessing AI to enhance educational opportunities for the future workforce.

Alpha Schools, created by education entrepreneur Mackenzie Price and tech mogul Joe Lemant, currently operates three locations in California and one in New York City.