A middle school in Springfield is set to become the first Massachusetts public school to pilot an artificial intelligence-powered education model. The teachers’ union is trying to put a stop to the program
Springfield’s Kiley Prep plans to use a model developed by Alpha School, a controversial national network that uses AI to teach academics like math and reading
Alpha Schools are known for having “guides” instead of traditional educators. The for-profit company claims its students learn faster than their peers in traditional classrooms
The pilot at Kiley would start this fall in a single sixth grade class. More classrooms could follow
“We’re in need of doing something pretty dramatic in the wake of post-COVID learning losses. We can at least see if this strategy could yield some success.”
Matt Brunell
Kiley is part of the Springfield Empowerment Zone, a cluster of public schools overseen by the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership under a different governance structure from the rest of the district
Springfield Empowerment Zone leaders had discussed bringing the Alpha model into several classrooms during the 2026-2027 school year, according to emails obtained through a public records request filed by the president of the Springfield Education Association and shared with WBUR
The pilot would begin with about 25 students. Kiley Prep has roughly 300 sixth through eighth graders, and students score well below state averages on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, the standardized test known as the MCAS
Matt Brunell, SEZP’s co-executive director, said he hopes Alpha’s model will boost academic performance
“We’re in need of doing something pretty dramatic in the wake of post-COVID learning losses,” he said. “We can at least see if this strategy could yield some success.”
Brunell posted a message on the SEZP website Thursday outlining the plan. He said parents will be notified Friday. School starts Monday, and the pilot is expected to begin in September
The SEZP notified the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education about the potential Alpha partnership, though a spokesperson for the department said SEZP does not need their approval
SEZP has broad authority to make operational decisions over its schools under its unique governance structure. The Empowerment Zone was created in 2014 as an alternative to placing a group of Springfield middle schools deemed “underperforming” into receivership. Under the agreement, SEZP was given “full managerial and operational control” of those schools
Alpha is expanding into several other areas of Massachusetts. Two private schools are scheduled to open in Boston this fall, and will charge roughly $60,000 a year. Another is under consideration by the Lexington School Committee
Brunell said students participating in the Kiley Prep pilot would spend roughly two hours a day on their laptops learning with AI. Their teacher would circulate the room and provide support. The afternoon would be devoted to project-based workshops aligned to state standards
A certified teacher at Kiley Prep would work with the students and the AI program, said Brunell
“Teachers will remain central to the work,” he added. “This is not about replacing teachers with technology. It’s actually about freeing up teacher time for relationships, for coaching of students, for small group support and for deeper learning.”
The teachers’ union filed a cease and desist letter to school leaders last week, threatening legal action and raising concerns that the program could erode their job responsibilities. The union represents educators who work in the Empowerment Zone
The union also listed concerns about the “quality and efficacy” of the school’s AI and project-based learning models, and Alpha’s ability to keep teacher and student data private
Alpha spokesperson Anna Davlantes said its data is encrypted and its learning model has shown “exceptional” academic results over the years
Emails between Alpha and SEZP leaders show the plan evolving in just a few months. The union said in its cease and desist letter that the program was being “rushed” into a public school without “adequate vetting” or input from teachers, parents and students
“At this time, SEZP does not anticipate that the pilot will result in a reduction in the number of teachers, bargaining-unit positions, or bargaining-unit work,” said Brunell in a letter to the teachers’ union
But Springfield Education Association President Riley Hernandez said he worries that the model underestimates the importance of teachers who deeply understand the content they’re teaching
“We need specialized teachers in different subject areas to help students learn,” Hernandez told WBUR. “How do you teach chemistry if you aren’t a chemistry teacher?”
In response to the union’s concerns, Davlantes, the Alpha spokesperson, said in a statement that the network values teachers and their role as mentors who can motivate students to build “future-ready life skills.”
The partnership between Alpha and SEZP began after Brunell attended a breakfast with the company, he said. Alpha then hosted several webinars last spring for education leaders across the state
In an email to colleagues obtained by the teachers’ union and shared with WBUR, Brunell described the Alpha model as a “VERY disruptive approach to school” and noted that they have “some big money behind them.”
By early June, Brunell emailed a school budget memo and slides from a recent board meeting to Paige Fults, an Alpha representative.
An email shows SEZP leaders considered adopting the program for the 2027-2028 school year, but Alpha pushed to start sooner
“I told them, based on timing, that this was highly, highly unlikely,” Brunell said in a June 10 email to the Springfield Empowerment Zone’s co-executive director. “My current vote is just to explore, and not try it out for Fall 2026.”
But Alpha made the case for starting with a single class this fall. The pilot would expand in January to include 25 more Kiley Prep students and a cohort at John F. Kennedy Middle School
Brunell said that families could opt their children in or out
