America's Wealthy Are Paying $75,000 a Year for AI to Teach Their Kids

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A growing number of wealthy American families are turning their backs on traditional education, instead paying tens of thousands of dollars for AI-powered schools that replace human teachers with algorithms. Companies like Forge Prep and Alpha School are charging families eye-watering sums — up to $75,000 per year — for their children to effectively become beta testers for unproven AI tutoring systems.

The Rise of AI-Driven Private Schools

Alpha School and Forge Prep represent a new educational model where daily lessons are delivered almost entirely through AI tutors, supplemented with “interactive project-based workshops.” The model has found its most enthusiastic adopters in Silicon Valley, where tech-forward parents are eager to embrace disruption in education.

Shaun Johnson, a San Francisco-based venture capitalist, told the Wall Street Journal that he plans to send his son to a $75,000-per-year Alpha Kindergarten. “We recognize that education is likely broken the way it is and there’s going to be entrepreneurs that try to fix it,” Johnson said. “You want someone to be able to think on their feet and navigate the world, not necessarily a recitation of facts in a particular discipline.”

These schools promise a personalized curriculum that adapts to each child’s learning pace, with AI systems tracking progress and adjusting difficulty in real time — a vision that sounds appealing to parents frustrated by overcrowded classrooms and standardized testing.

Major Concerns Around AI Pedagogy

Critics argue that the pitch glosses over serious questions about what AI can — and cannot — teach young minds. Among the most pressing concerns is the well-documented tendency of large language models to be sycophantic, prioritizing agreement and flattery over honest correction. How an AI designed to please users will train children to “think on their feet and navigate the world” remains unclear.

Equally troubling is Alpha School co-founder MacKenzie Price’s stated intention to keep “hot-button social issues” out of the classroom. In the current political climate, that could encompass everything from women’s rights to America’s history of slavery and its immigrant past. While this approach may seem less consequential at kindergarten level, Alpha School operates in some locations through high school — and a curriculum that deliberately avoids uncomfortable historical truths raises serious questions about educational quality.

No Public Evidence of Success

Perhaps the most damning criticism leveled at these AI education companies is the lack of transparency around outcomes. Companies like Forge Prep do not share performance metrics, leaving the public with no evidence that their AI-guided approach actually improves educational outcomes over traditional methods.

This lack of data matters because the stakes are incredibly high — both financially for families, and developmentally for the children enrolled. With tuition comparable to elite private schools, parents are gambling that unproven technology will outperform centuries of pedagogical science.

A Broader Trust Problem

The rise of AI schools comes at a time when most Americans don’t trust AI. Studies have shown AI’s limitations in basic judgment — it famously struggles with safe pizza toppings — and the public remains skeptical of AI-generated music, art, and writing. The notion of handing over the education of young children to the same technology carries significant cultural unease.

Still, for wealthy families who believe the traditional education system is failing, these AI schools represent an attractive bet on the future. Whether that bet pays off — or leaves a generation of children as unwitting participants in an expensive experiment — will only become clear in the years ahead. Without transparency and published outcomes, parents are buying into a promise, not a proven product.

Sources:

https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/961505/wealthy-ai-schools-alpha-forge-prep

Photo by Pixabay (AI generated, robot, android, classroom imagery)

Edtech on Know the Tech

America's Wealthy Are Paying $75,000 a Year for AI to Teach Their Kids

The Rise of AI-Driven Private Schools

Major Concerns Around AI Pedagogy

No Public Evidence of Success

A Broader Trust Problem