Map Shows Where Teacher-Free Schools Are Expanding Across America

A private-school network that replaces conventional classroom instruction with AI and adaptive learning software is expanding across the United States, with campuses operating or launching in 16 states.

Alpha School describes its institutions as "AI-powered," where students complete core academic subjects through personalized software, while adult staff members, known as "guides," provide motivation, mentoring and support instead of delivering conventional lectures.

The network's latest opening is in Chicago, where the new pre-K through eighth-grade campus charges $55,000 per year in tuition. Newsweek has contacted Alpha for comment via email.

Alpha School is built around what it describes as a "2-Hour Learning model." Students spend about two hours each morning completing core subjects via AI-assisted programs that adapt to their individual level and pace.

Afternoons are reserved for workshops covering areas such as public speaking, entrepreneurship, leadership, coding and financial literacy. Alpha says the model allows students to complete academics more efficiently and devote more of the school day to practical skills.

"Your kids can accomplish twice as much if they're not sitting in a one-size-fits-all classroom for 6 hours," its website says.

While human educators have not completely disappeared from the campuses, their responsibilities have significantly changed. Alpha says its guides focus on motivating students, helping them set goals and supporting their wider development, while the software handles much of the direct academic instruction.

The company says its students grow 2.6 times faster than the average academic growth of their peers on nationally normed Measures of Academic Progress assessments.

While Alpha says its AI-driven model allows students to complete core academics more efficiently, some education experts caution that evidence for fully AI-centered schooling remains limited.

Research has found that AI tutoring can improve learning outcomes and provide personalized instruction, but organizations such as UNESCO have warned about risks related to privacy, critical-thinking skills and reduced human interaction. Many researchers argue that AI is most effective when used alongside educators rather than as a replacement for them.

Alpha's expansion also comes amid mounting concerns over falling reading levels and the use of AI in the classroom. Last week, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development released the PISA 2025 Results, which showed American students' reading scores near a 25-year low and their math scores ranking among the lowest since the assessment began in 2000.

The Program for International Student Assessment is administered every three years to 15-year-olds around the world, with about 4,600 taking the exam in the United States last year.

The following states have an Alpha campus that is open, enrolling, launching or described by the company as coming soon.

Alpha introduced its model in Scottsdale for the 2025-26 academic year. School materials describe Alpha Scottsdale as serving kindergarten through eighth grade and using an AI tutor and adaptive learning applications in place of conventional, teacher-led classroom instruction. Annual tuition is $40,000.

California has become one of Alpha's largest expansion markets. The company's website shows campuses in Palo Alto and Piedmont as "open and enrolling," while locations in Malibu and the South Bay area of Los Angeles are described as "launching in fall 2026." Tuition listed for the campuses ranges from $60,000 in Malibu to $75,000 in Palo Alto.

Alpha Denver is launching in Lone Tree for the 2026-27 school year. The campus, which covers kindergarten to eighth grade, lists an annual tuition of $50,000.

Alpha Greenwich Armonk is launching in the fall. While listed under Connecticut on the company's website, the school's stated address is in Armonk, New York. The campus is set to serve kindergarten through eighth grade and lists its annual tuition as $65,000.

Alpha Miami is open and enrolling students from kindergarten through 12th grade at its Glenvar Heights campus, with annual tuition listed at $50,000. A separate pre-K through eighth-grade Alpha Miami Beach campus is launching in the fall and lists tuition as $65,000 per year.

Alpha Atlanta is launching in Roswell in the fall. The school is listed as serving kindergarten through eighth grade, with an annual tuition of $50,000.

Alpha Chicago launched earlier this month, covering pre-K through eighth grade. The school charges an annual tuition of $55,000.

Alpha Bethesda is scheduled to open in January 2027 with an annual tuition of $65,000, serving kindergarten through eighth grade.

Alpha Jamaica Plain is launching in Boston in the fall. The K-8 school lists its annual tuition as $60,000.

Alpha New York is serving K-12 students in Lower Manhattan's Financial District, "just steps from the East River waterfront and the iconic South Street Seaport," and has tuition fees of $65,000 per year.

Alpha Charlotte is open for the 2026-27 school year, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It lists tuition as $45,000 per year.

Alpha Tulsa covers kindergarten through eighth grade and lists a $40,000 annual tuition. It is set to launch this fall.

Texas is Alpha's home state and remains a major part of its network. Alpha Southlake is open and enrolling in Keller, while Alpha Highland Park is launching in Dallas this fall. A Houston campus is also described as "coming soon." According to the website, annual tuition ranges from $40,000 at Southlake to $60,000 at Highland Park.

Alpha Park City is scheduled to launch in the fall, serving K-8 students and with an annual tuition fee of $50,000.

Alpha Chantilly is "open and enrolling" students for the 2026-27 academic year. The K-8 school lists an annual tuition of $65,000 and offers rolling admission.

Alpha operates a K-8 campus in Kirkland with an annual tuition of $55,000.

Alpha's growth illustrates how AI is moving beyond classroom supplements and into the structure of schooling itself.

Whether its model produces durable academic advantages remains a key question, but the accelerating rollout suggests that some families are already willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for an education built around AI-based software rather than traditional teaching.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Shakeema Edwards.