AI schools expand, but Iowa takes a slower path
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Photo: Courtesy of Alpha Schools
A private-school network built around artificial intelligence plans to expand to about 50 campuses this school year, while some Iowa districts pursue a separate AI experiment.
Why it matters: Iowa schools are taking an incremental path on AI, putting new tools in teachers' hands even as other models rethink the classroom itself.
How it works: Alpha School students spend about two hours each day on AI-powered programs for core academics, then focus on life skills and projects.
- Instead of licensed teachers leading lessons, Alpha employs "guides" who are paid at least $100,000 annually to coach and motivate students.
- Its announced locations include Chicago and Tulsa, but none in Iowa.
Zoom in: Waukee became Iowa's first district to join OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teachers pilot, a tool for lesson planning and classroom activities.
- Ankeny teachers have used ChatGPT and MagicSchool to provide personalized reading materials and language assistance.
Zoom out: Just 18% of teachers in public K-12 schools in a recent Gallup study said they've received formal guidance from school administrators on how to use AI tools.
The intrigue: A new Iowa law caps digital instruction for K-5 students at 60 minutes per school day, with exceptions for assessments, assistive technology and computer science.
- Districts must also allow parents to request further reductions in their child's digital instruction.
Worthy of your time: A recent Iowa State study of 38 undergraduates found that using AI effectively for writing can require more thought, not less, because students must still develop ideas, exercise judgment, and evaluate the output.