Many parents worry about artificial intelligence creeping into the classroom.

According to a 2025 survey by the Center for Applied Research in Education at the University of Southern California, nearly two-thirds of parents surveyed believe AI could undermine children’s basic skills – and a quarter think schools should completely ban it.

Not David Hassell.

The father of a sixth grader at Alpha Scottsdale has three words for AI in schools: Bring it on.

Hassell describes himself on LinkedIN as a “serial entrepreneur.” He is the CEO of 15Five, a strategic performance management platform. 

The company’s pitch: “By continuously measuring the indicators of employee engagement and performance that matter most, 15Five helps HR leaders uncover risks of turnover, poor performance, and ineffective management.”

This time last year, Hassell was struggling with what could be described as literally an “in-house” problem. His son, then in fifth grade, was struggling to keep up at various traditional schools.

Doing some research, Hassell found an out-of-the-box company that runs AI schools around the country.

And it was ready to open a K-8 Scottsdale branch, at 20624 N. 76th St., between Grayhawk Golf Club and HonorHealth Thompson Peak Medical Center in North Scottsdale. 

On the “hardware” side, this looks like any other small school. Playground, classrooms, cafeteria – check, check, check.

But there are no teachers struggling to instruct 30 students or more at a time. 

The instructional model here at Alpha is “AI-driven 1:1 tutoring.

“At Alpha Scottsdale, our mastery-based, AI-driven approach allows students to crush their academics in two hours,” the pitch goes.

“The rest of the day is spent on life skills and team-based workshops that ignite motivation and teach things like leadership, grit, financial literacy and entrepreneurship.”

This week, for example, Alpha Scottsdale students celebrated the launch of a food truck, a class project on business skills.

Even with minimal time spent learning, Alpha Schools say their students “learn 2x as fast as their peers, score in the top 1-2% nationally across all core curriculum and grade levels and more than 90% say they love school.”

It’s not cheap.

Tuition at Alpha Scottsdale is roughly the same as at the University of Vermont and many other private universities: $40,000. (“Alpha offers generous scholarships to many of their students,” a publicist noted.)

Hassell, for one, says it’s worth it.

Fast turnaround

There are a few other relatively new options, for families interested in exploring AI-driven schools

At Unbound Academy, “Our teachers use AI-powered learning models to personalize every child’s coursework to their pace, level, and interests.”

Like Alpha schools, Unbound Academy students spend two hours a day in condensed classes.

Similarly, “two-hour learning” takes place at Novatio, which advertises itself as “a private, virtual, AI-driven, teacher-guided school for grades 4-8.”

Novatio also promises Arizona families “tuition fully covered with ESA (Empowerment Scholarship Account).”

Alpha Scottsdale, under the leadership of “head of school/lead guide” Matt Shenker, opened four months ago with 25 students.

Hassell was so impressed with the new school, he enrolled his son – and drives him to school from Sedona every day.

“I know there’s a lot of controversy around AI,” he pondered, “but you have to think of it as a tool …”

Hassell said the traditional school model does not work for those like his son, Connor Baker-Hassell, who has dyslexia.

“You have one teacher in front of a large classroom teaching curriculum,” the elder Hassell reflected. “You’re teaching to half a class – and the other half of the class is way ahead and bored.”

The Alpha schools model, he explained, is enhanced one-on-one tutoring. “With AI, they’re able to figure out exactly where a student is – and tailor the lesson to what they know so they can progress without any gaps in knowledge,” Hassell said.

But does having a “guide” using AI tools really work better than a traditional teacher?

“We were skeptical – hopeful but skeptical,” the father said.

“Then we got our first results … it was extraordinary.”

“Our expectation was we hoped he was learning at a 2x (rate) because he’s behind. But the first round of testing, his reading pace (grew) 10 times, math is five times, science eight times.

“He is very very quickly catching up to his grade level.” 

There is much more to Alpha Scottsdale than math, reading and science, Hassell says.

“Connor is learning how to be a leader, how to run projects – they’re launching a food truck, coming up with a menu, learning profit-and- loss,” he said.

The food truck launched this week. Fifth, sixth and seventh graders developed the menu (tacos and waffles), created the business plan and will cook, sell and serve customers themselves.

The truck is a temporary donation from the family behind Arizona’s Macayo’s restaurant chain – the owners’ children attend the school.

The image of AI teaching kids to become robots is far from the reality, in Hassell’s experience.

“The computer (learning) portion is limited, only a third of the day,” “It’s actually a very social school. When you walk into the Alpha classroom, during the academic period, they’re sitting around with headphones on, they’ve got laptops out. But once that’s done, the rest of the day is all social activities,” Hassell said.

Activities include cold plunges, archery, jujitsu. “It’s a mix of practical things with fun things,” Hassell said.

In video testimonials on the school’s website, a half-dozen other parents rave about Alpha Scottsdale, saying their kids love the condensed learning and activities – with one mom almost jealously saying, “I wish they would have had this when I was a kid.” 

While his son’s test scores have been impressive, that’s not what has blown the mind of this father. 

“The level of self confidence this kid has – it’s amazing,” Hassell said.

“The other day, he said, ‘Dad, I want to start an Alpha Sedona.

“That was not the kid I knew a year ago. He’s feeling confident in himself academically. So far it’s been just a wonderful experience.”

Connor Baker-Hassell was asked to compare and contrast his school with a traditional school. His response:

“Here at Alpha I really like almost everything. For example, I love the freedom Alpha gives us. We have this event called Townhall where students get to vote and make decisions on what to add to school. Whereas my old schools never let students make decisions.

“Another thing I like about Alpha is 2 Hour Learning. In the 2 Hour Learning time we work for two hours. In those two hours we gain XP by completing our individualized lessons and close our academic rings with that XP. In my old schools we had classes based on our grade, it was either too easy or too hard.

“Additionally, here at Alpha we also do Workshops where we learn life skills. One of the most fun Workshops I did this session was the food truck Workshop where we made food for families at the test-to-pass event. At my old schools it was just academics for eight hours straight.

“In conclusion, Alpha Scottsdale is an amazing school that I recommend to everyone who can afford it.”

No teachers

Though Alpha schools do not have traditional teachers, that hardly means it’s a free-for-all.

According to the company’s description, Alpha schools have “AI-driven 1:1 tutoring. There are no teachers at Alpha School, they are instead referred to as ‘guides,’ who are:

  • “Paid over $100K a year;

  • “Selected through a rigorous process that includes FBI-level background checks;

  • “Receive cognitive testing (applicants must score in the top 15%;)

  • “Are real-time observations on how they interact with students using AI.”

More information on AI schools: alpha.school/scottsdale; unbound.school; novatio.school.