The AI-powered, Austin-based private school Alpha Schools plans to grow from a dozen to roughly 50 campuses in the 2026 school year, its founder tells Axios.

Why it matters: While traditional schools navigate how to adopt AI, Alpha Schools has created an AI-dependent classroom model that the company says reduces screen time and increases human interaction.

• Tuition costs $45,000 to $75,000 a year.

State of play: This school year, Alpha plans to open campuses in 27 markets, including one in Lake Travis.

• Alpha has two campuses in Austin — Alpha High downtown and a pre-K through eighth grade campus near Zilker Park.

How it works: Students spend no more than two hours a day on AI software to learn core subjects, says MacKenzie Price, co-founder and CEO of Alpha Schools.

• They spend the rest of the day developing life skills in workshops.
• For example, in Austin, students organized a music festival — "Alpha City Limits" — at Inn Cahoots in late May to benefit the nonprofit Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.
• Instead of licensed teachers conducting lessons, Alpha Schools hires "guides" whose jobs are to motivate and coach students. They're paid at least $100,000 a year.

The big picture: Many public schools have been slow to put clear guardrails around AI.

• 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.
• Meanwhile, parents are balancing whether letting their children use AI strengthens digital literacy or results in cognitive decline. The research is limited.

Friction point: Penn State professor Gerald LeTendre says his concern with AI education models — including Unbound Academy and Khan Lab School — is they risk conflating teaching and tutoring.

• "AI tutoring can help, but it has to be within an atmosphere where there's deep human contact with a highly qualified teacher," he adds.
• He argues helping teachers become proficient in AI is a more promising strategy than replacing them.

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Three consecutive polls show Democrat James Talarico narrowly ahead of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race.

Driving the news: The latest, released yesterday by the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University, has Talarico up 47%-45%.

Why it matters: That's within the survey's margin of error, and the Republican establishment isn't panicking.

• But there are some troubling signs for the GOP nominee among white and Latino voters.

State of play: Republicans plan to drive up Talarico's negatives with ad buys and wait for GOP voters to come home.

• But outside money still hasn't arrived for Paxton — we reported earlier that U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's big-dollar donors were withholding their dough — as Talarico's team continues to pump out ads calling Paxton "the most corrupt politician in America."

Zoom in: Demographically, Paxton appears to be suffering a one-two blow, according to the TSU survey.

• Paxton is winning white voters (60% of the modeled midterm electorate) by just 14 points, the survey found, low for a Texas Republican. President Trump won them by 33 in Texas two years ago, according to exit polls.
• Trump also carried Hispanic voters (21% of the electorate) by 10 points. Talarico is winning them by 19.

Reality check: Paxton has won statewide elections three times.

• His character issues — from various corruption charges to a messy divorce — are well known to Texas voters. Voters have continued to put him in office anyway.

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🎬 AFS Cinema plans to add a third screen to its theater on Middle Fiskville Road. (Community Impact)

💧 Buda officials are weighing a water and wastewater rate increase to help fund infrastructure projects. (KXAN)

🚍 Austin ISD is changing bus stop locations for middle and high school students, shifting to "hub" stops at community centers like post offices, Cap Metro transit centers or libraries. (Fox 7)

🐄 Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville will close after nearly a decade in operation, citing the economy, beef prices and parking as challenges. (KVUE)

👋 Asher here, your very dedicated iced drink correspondent.

I recently had what I consider the prettiest cold drink in Austin — the pink moon latte ($7.50) at Runaway Luna Lifestyle, a cafe and boutique in the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave.

• Served in a classy tall glass on a small wooden cutting board that's sprinkled with dried flower petals, the presentation is gorgeous — and the drink is nice and creamy.
• Billed as a decaf "wellness drink," the pink moon latte blends beetroot, pomegranate, collagen and almond milk.

The vibe: Runaway is a very successful version of an interior decorator's idea of a cafe — in fact, the boutique portion of the store sells pillows, blankets and kitchen goods like lavender simple syrups.

• The pink moon latte competes on the not-coffee end of the menu with a banana cream matcha and the Purple Rain, a concoction of butterfly pea flower tea, sparkling water and agave.

🍹 Six-word review: The rare pretty and refreshing libation.