Positive Leadership Reimagining Education in the Age of AI with MacKenzie Price
Jan 7, 2026
MacKenzie Price is a Stanford-educated psychologist and co-founder of Alpha School, an innovative institution focused on AI-enhanced, personalized learning. She shares how her daughter's boredom with traditional school led her to create a new educational model that emphasizes life skills alongside academics. Students achieve mastery in just two hours a day, allowing time for creativity and vital skills like public speaking and resilience. MacKenzie envisions a future where education fosters changemakers and adapts to individual needs using AI, all while keeping human connections at the core.
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Moment That Sparked Alpha School
- MacKenzie left her daughter's public school after the child said, "school is boring," despite good grades.
- She realized the time-based, one-teacher model was stealing her daughter's passion and decided to build a new school.
Humble Launch In A House
- Alpha began in a rented house with 16 kids, two founders, and creative spaces like a 'launch room.'
- Early experiments included entrepreneurship days like a boys-vs-girls lemonade war teaching profit and product quality.
Two-Hour Mastery Model
- Alpha concentrates core academics into a two-hour personalized AI-driven block each day.
- Students achieve twice the learning in two hours versus typical six-hour academic days, measured by NWEA MAP.
