Alpha Bethesda says students enrolled in its AI-driven school are being prepared for "limitless futures." But it'll cost about $65,000.
Editor's Note: This story was updated Friday, Sept. 18, to include statements from the Alpha School.
BETHESDA, MD — A new style of schooling is making its way to Montgomery County, and it's fully tapping into the world of artificial intelligence.
Coming to Bethesda in 2027 will be the Alpha School, an AI-driven educational venture backed by tech billionaire Joe Liemandt that aims to revolutionize K-12 education.
The school says on its website that it will open in January 2027. However, a spokesperson told The Banner that it's eyeing a fall 2027 opening.
A spokesperson told Patch that the opening was set for 2027, adding that "more than 100 families have expressed interest in Alpha Bethesda and enrollment is currently underway for next year."
No official address for Alpha Bethesda, which will specifically serve students from kindergarten through eighth grade, has been provided.
"We see Alpha as an additional option within Montgomery County’s already strong educational landscape, particularly for families seeking a highly personalized, mastery-based approach that gives students time to build practical life skills, like confidence, independence and financial literacy," spokesperson Sofia Swanson told Patch.
"Alpha students spend the majority of their day screen free, engaging in interactive, project-based workshops where they work in teams to solve problems and engage in creative pursuits."
How Does An AI-Driven School Differ?
Unlike traditional schools, the Alpha School designs its curriculum so enrolled students spend two hours crunching down on lesson plans, with the rest of the day spent on "life skills and team-based workshops."
The school states workshops "ignite motivation and teach things like leadership, grit, financial literacy & entrepreneurship."
At Alpha Bethesda, which runs families about $65,000 in tuition alone, adaptive software builds lesson plans and adjusts assignments based on a student's mastery of a subject, spending more time on trouble areas and making classwork more difficult where students excel.
The school employs "guides" to handle life skills coaching sessions, mentoring and 30-minute one-on-one meetings with students, among other duties.
"Their role is critical to our student success," Swanson told Patch.
Organizers say the program allows students to learn "twice as much academic material" in a 2-hour span.
"At Alpha, an AI-driven platform delivers personalized academic lessons, allowing students to learn approximately 10 times faster than in a traditional setting. Students master a full year of material in just 20-22 hours," reads a post on its website.
Guides enlisted by the school vary from experienced classroom teachers to scholars and former school counselors.
Each guide starts at a minimum salary of $100,000, a stark contrast to the starting salaries of Montgomery County Public Schools teachers. Under MCPS, teachers typically start around $66,000.
Alpha Bethesda's looming arrival comes as the Montgomery County school district carries out a comprehensive audit of students' screen time and digital use in elementary and middle schools. The district expects to file a report by March 2027.
The Alpha system, however, has faced backlash in the past. MacKenzie Price, a cofounder of the Alpha brand, said in a March post that at least 10 states rejected its applications for publicly funded charter institutions. School board officials had questioned its ability to deliver on academic mastery promises.
Swanson told Patch the charter school applications were "distinct from Alpha’s private-school model and from the planned Alpha Bethesda campus," adding that "Alpha has passed the rigorous Cognia accreditation process and all schools are Cognia accredited."