{"id":624169,"date":"2026-03-01T08:26:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T08:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/624169\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T08:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T08:26:17","slug":"new-ai-school-thriving-in-scottsdale-city-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/624169\/","title":{"rendered":"New \u2018AI school\u2019 thriving in Scottsdale | City News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many parents worry about artificial intelligence creeping into the classroom.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 and a quarter think schools should completely ban it.<\/p>\n

Not David Hassell.<\/p>\n

The father of a sixth grader at Alpha Scottsdale has three words for AI in schools: Bring it on.<\/p>\n

Hassell describes himself on LinkedIN as a \u201cserial entrepreneur.\u201d He is the CEO of 15Five, a strategic performance management platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s pitch: \u201cBy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time last year, Hassell was struggling with what could be described as literally an \u201cin-house\u201d problem. His son, then in fifth grade, was struggling to keep up at various traditional schools.<\/p>\n

Doing some research, Hassell found an out-of-the-box company that runs AI schools around the country.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the \u201chardware\u201d side, this looks like any other small school. Playground, classrooms, cafeteria \u2013 check, check, check.<\/p>\n

But there are no teachers struggling to instruct 30 students or more at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The instructional model here at Alpha is \u201cAI-driven 1:1 tutoring.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Alpha Scottsdale, our mastery-based, AI-driven approach allows students to crush their academics in two hours,\u201d the pitch goes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, for example, Alpha Scottsdale students celebrated the launch of a food truck, a class project on business skills.<\/p>\n

Even with minimal time spent learning, Alpha Schools say their students \u201clearn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not cheap.<\/p>\n

Tuition at Alpha Scottsdale is roughly the same as at the University of Vermont and many other private universities: $40,000. (\u201cAlpha offers generous scholarships to many of their students,\u201d a publicist noted.)<\/p>\n

Hassell, for one, says it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

Fast turnaround<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a few other relatively new options, for families interested in exploring AI-driven schools<\/p>\n

At Unbound Academy, \u201cOur teachers use AI-powered learning models to personalize every child’s coursework to their pace, level, and interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Alpha schools, Unbound Academy students spend two hours a day in condensed classes.<\/p>\n

Similarly, \u201ctwo-hour learning\u201d takes place at Novatio, which advertises itself as \u201ca private, virtual, AI-driven, teacher-guided school for grades 4-8.\u201d<\/p>\n

Novatio also promises Arizona families \u201ctuition fully covered with ESA (Empowerment Scholarship Account).\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpha Scottsdale, under the leadership of \u201chead of school\/lead guide\u201d Matt Shenker, opened four months ago with 25 students.<\/p>\n

Hassell was so impressed with the new school, he enrolled his son \u2013 and drives him to school from Sedona every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there\u2019s a lot of controversy around AI,\u201d he pondered, \u201cbut you have to think of it as a tool \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Hassell said the traditional school model does not work for those like his son, Connor Baker-Hassell, who has dyslexia.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have one teacher in front of a large classroom teaching curriculum,\u201d the elder Hassell reflected. \u201cYou\u2019re teaching to half a class \u2013 and the other half of the class is way ahead and bored.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Alpha schools model, he explained, is enhanced one-on-one tutoring. \u201cWith AI, they\u2019re able to figure out exactly where a student is \u2013 and tailor the lesson to what they know so they can progress without any gaps in knowledge,\u201d Hassell said.<\/p>\n

But does having a \u201cguide\u201d using AI tools really work better than a traditional teacher?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were skeptical \u2013 hopeful but skeptical,\u201d the father said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we got our first results \u2026 it was extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur expectation was we hoped he was learning at a 2x (rate) because he\u2019s behind. But the first round of testing, his reading pace (grew) 10 times, math is five times, science eight times.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is very very quickly catching up to his grade level.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is much more to Alpha Scottsdale than math, reading and science, Hassell says.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnor is learning how to be a leader, how to run projects \u2013 they\u2019re launching a food truck, coming up with a menu, learning profit-and- loss,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The truck is a temporary donation from the family behind Arizona\u2019s Macayo\u2019s restaurant chain \u2013 the owners\u2019 children attend the school.<\/p>\n

The image of AI teaching kids to become robots is far from the reality, in Hassell\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe computer (learning) portion is limited, only a third of the day,\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s actually a very social school. When you walk into the Alpha classroom, during the academic period, they\u2019re sitting around with headphones on, they\u2019ve got laptops out. But once that\u2019s done, the rest of the day is all social activities,\u201d Hassell said.<\/p>\n

Activities include cold plunges, archery, jujitsu. \u201cIt\u2019s a mix of practical things with fun things,\u201d Hassell said.<\/p>\n

In video testimonials on the school\u2019s website, a half-dozen other parents rave about Alpha Scottsdale, saying their kids love the condensed learning and activities \u2013 with one mom almost jealously saying, \u201cI wish they would have had this when I was a kid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While his son\u2019s test scores have been impressive, that\u2019s not what has blown the mind of this father.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level of self confidence this kid has \u2013 it\u2019s amazing,\u201d Hassell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other day, he said, \u2018Dad, I want to start an Alpha Sedona.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was not the kid I knew a year ago. He\u2019s feeling confident in himself academically. So far it\u2019s been just a wonderful experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connor Baker-Hassell was asked to compare and contrast his school with a traditional school. His response:<\/p>\n

\u201cHere 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdditionally, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn conclusion, Alpha Scottsdale is an amazing school that I recommend to everyone who can afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n

No teachers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though Alpha schools do not have traditional teachers, that hardly means it\u2019s a free-for-all.<\/p>\n

According to the company\u2019s description, Alpha schools have \u201cAI-driven 1:1 tutoring. There are no teachers at Alpha School, they are instead referred to as \u2018guides,\u2019 who are:<\/p>\n