I had a chance to visit the Alpha School in New York City last week, and then to talk with MacKenzie Price, Alpha School’s Co-Founder, as part of the Global Institute’s Better Future Conversations.

MacKenzie shared that her experience as a mom motivated her to found Alpha Schools because she saw that her kids weren’t fully engaged in school. “Kids are limitless,” she said, “and a school's job is to provide an environment that helps unlock their potential.” I saw this core belief on display throughout my visit to the school and our conversation.
I also saw that Alpha Schools has succeeded in completely shifting the relationship between students and teachers. Moreso than the fact that students work towards academic mastery in two hours a day of personalized, AI-enabled learning, which is what makes headlines, it was this shift that struck me most.

In our work across Teach For All and through the Global Institute for Shaping a Better Future, we’ve seen just how important — and challenging — it is to support teachers to see their students as whole people who can lead today, and to see themselves not as ‘sages on the stage’ but as learners alongside students.

At Alpha, where there are no “teachers” but rather, “guides,” this shift is at the core of their approach. From how they recruit and select guides, to how they compensate them (with at least $100,000 a year), to how they set up the school day, everything supports this different relationship between students and teachers.

We’re sharing the video of my discussion with MacKenzie, where she explains much more and engages with questions from across our global community. You can learn about everything from how Alpha has set up the school day and how they motivate students, to how they accommodate for learning differences and how they plan to scale.

I left my week energized by Alpha’s fearlessness in rethinking a school model that really hasn’t changed in decades. I also left with two big hopes for Alpha’s future.

First, I hope Alpha will consider an explicit orientation towards developing students who can, through fulfilling their limitless potential, shape a better world not only for themselves but for all of us. I saw lots of evidence that many of their students are already having a positive impact in the world, but also left thinking that it feels important not to leave this orientation to chance.

And second, I hope we’ll find a way to bring to the most under-resourced communities the shift in educators’ orientations and perspectives about the role of students and teachers. Currently Alpha’s model is largely enabled by expensive private school tuitions and it will take lots of commitment and ingenuity to make it broadly accessible. One of our webinar participants commented in the chat that their own kids were listening and said they wanted to go to a school like this. Here’s hoping that we can make its principles — about the limitless potential of kids and the value of adults who support them to live into it — accessible to all.

About This Conversation

On May 8, 2026, Wendy Kopp sat down with MacKenzie Price, CEO and Cofounder of Alpha School, for a Better Future Conversation titled Inside a Bold Reimagination of Education. Participants joined the live session from across the Teach For All network and beyond. The conversation featured live questions from selected community members, as well as audience questions engaged with during the session, including:

• Saja Daghameen, a current Teach For Palestine fellow, who joined live to ask about how literacy is developed within the two-hour academic model.
• Najma Agherdien, Honorary Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, who joined live to ask about integrating indigenous knowledges as Alpha expands into new communities.
• Rachel Brody, SVP of Global Youth and Education Programs at Special Olympics and an alumna of Teach For America, who joined live to ask about inclusive design for learners with disabilities.

Better Future Conversations is a series within the Global Institute for Shaping a Better Future at Teach For All. Each conversation features global leaders exploring how we can reimagine education to prepare young people to shape a better future.

Join the community to receive updates, recordings, and insights on future conversations.