A $65,000-a-year AI school is opening in Miami Beach. Here’s what to know

A billionaire-backed artificial intelligence school with no traditional teachers and $65,000 annual tuition is opening a new K-8 campus in Miami Beach this August.

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The arrival of Alpha School reflects how wealthy newcomers are reshaping South Florida’s private education landscape.

FULL STORY: An AI school with $65K tuition is the latest sign of billionaires reshaping Miami

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Here are key takeaways:

• Alpha School paid $19 million for the former Papillon Montessori campus on Biarritz Drive in Normandy Isle. The three-building property can accommodate up to 250 students and includes a pool, koi pond and outdoor classrooms.
• Students spend about two hours a day on core academics with an AI tutor rather than traditional teachers. Adults called “guides” lead workshops on leadership, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and public speaking.
• Billionaire software entrepreneur Joe Liemandt of Austin, Texas, is the principal investor behind Alpha. Worth $6 billion, according to Forbes, he says he has committed $1 billion to build an AI learning platform to reach 1 billion children worldwide.
• Alpha’s $65,000 tuition ranks among the highest in Miami-Dade, exceeding Ransom Everglades (about $54,300) and Gulliver Prep (about $56,000).
• Recent investigations by The Wall Street Journal, WIRED and 404 Media have questioned Alpha’s academic claims, lesson quality, student oversight and data security. The school has publicly disputed those criticisms.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.

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