🛝AI School Backlash, Push For Remote Schooling, Reading Expert Challenges Common Practice

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: An AI-powered school backed by billionaires is facing serious allegations from families who pulled their kids out, and a leading reading expert says the way most schools teach reading is actually holding students back. Educators push for remote schooling in response to ICE raids.

💎 Data Gem

97% of test takers sat a digital SAT in 2025, and participation topped 2 million - the first increase since 2020.

Parents Loved Alpha School's Promise. Then They Wanted Out

Alpha School pitched a compelling vision: students learning twice as fast in half the time using AI-powered personalized learning software. 

With backing from tech billionaires and endorsements from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the Texas-based microschool looked like the future of education.

But a WIRED investigation found that more than a dozen former employees, students, and parents say the reality didn't match the promise.

The model is unusual. 

Students spend their days working through personalized learning apps with minimal human instruction. 

Adult "guides" don't teach - they supervise. 

Academic coaching comes from remote workers, many based outside the U.S., employed by founder Joe Liemandt's other companies.

Parents described children working late into the night to meet metrics, skipping meals to catch up on lessons, and developing stress-related behaviors. At least five families withdrew from the Brownsville campus, which Alpha has used in marketing materials and charter applications as proof the model works in "low SES" communities.

Alpha denied the allegations in a statement, calling them "categorically and demonstrably false." The school says students thrive in environments with "high standards and high support."

The investigation also revealed educational gaps. 

Parents reported children who could decode words quickly but couldn't comprehend what they read, or students writing at kindergarten level despite being in third grade.

The backlash raises questions about automation in education. Alpha's model relies heavily on software and metrics - tracking mouse movements, keyboard usage, even using eye-tracking programs to monitor student engagement.

What this means: The demand for personalized learning solutions is real, but Alpha's challenges highlight the risks of replacing rather than augmenting teachers. The opportunity is in building AI tools that support educators and maintain human relationships, not eliminate them.

Why One Reading Expert Says 'Just-Right' Books Are All Wrong

Timothy Shanahan, a professor emeritus who led the National Reading Panel and helped shape the science of reading, just published a book challenging one of the most common practices in American classrooms: matching students with "just-right" books based on their reading level.

His argument: leveled reading holds students back instead of helping them improve.

A 2018 survey found that 62% of upper elementary teachers and more than half of middle school teachers teach at students' individual reading levels rather than at grade level. 

Shanahan says this well-intentioned practice prevents comprehension growth.

"American children are being prevented from doing better in reading by a longstanding commitment to a pedagogical theory that insists students are best taught with books they can already read," Shanahan writes in "Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives."

Teachers are either skipping challenging texts altogether in subjects like social studies and science, or reading them aloud to students instead of teaching students how to read them independently.

Shanahan recommends that all students read grade-level texts together, with teachers providing differentiated support for those who struggle. Think of it as teaching everyone to ride a bike with training wheels and hands-on help, rather than keeping some kids on tricycles permanently.

Shanahan acknowledges that some students - like fifth graders who still can't decode - need separate intervention. But for most students from second grade on, the recommendation is clear: same text, different levels of support.

Curriculum companies and assessment platforms built around leveled reading libraries may need to rethink their approach. Tools should help teachers provide differentiated support while keeping all students working with grade-level texts - think scaffolding tools, vocabulary support, or comprehension strategies that adapt to student needs without changing the text itself.

Educators Push Remote Schooling Options in Response to ICE Raids

School districts in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York are exploring virtual learning options as increased ICE enforcement near schools causes fear and absenteeism among immigrant families.

"This is an emergency," said Chicago Board of Education member Anusha Thotakura during an October 23 public meeting. "Although the safest place for kids is at school, even if there is something that we can do to prevent one family being separated or one child coming back home to see that their parents are not there, we need to explore those avenues."

The Chicago area has seen multiple ICE apprehensions on or near school grounds in recent weeks, including during drop-off and pickup hours. 

Changes issued in January to Department of Homeland Security policy no longer protect schools from enforcement raids.

Travel to and from school remains the main concern. "Safe passage does not exist right now," said board member Emma Lozano. "Our parents are asking for remote learning if possible."

Implementing district-wide virtual options would likely require Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to declare a state of emergency, board members noted.

Los Angeles Unified already emphasized its virtual school option in August after a 15-year-old LAUSD student with disabilities was detained outside a district high school at gunpoint.

In March, the New York State Education Department told superintendents that districts could offer virtual learning "to individual students who may be unable or averse to attending school, including during times of political uncertainty."

A July report from psychiatric researchers at UC Riverside and NYU found that federal immigration enforcement policies have been linked to absenteeism, classroom disengagement, and heightened emotional distress among students.

Districts need flexible, quickly deployable remote options that maintain academic continuity and can serve specific student populations rather than entire schools. The opportunity is in platforms designed for targeted, rapid deployment rather than full-scale virtual schooling.

⚡️More Quick Hits

This week in education:

• FAFSA opens early  -  Local outlets urge immediate filing after last year's delays; timing matters for securing federal and state aid

• Districts brace for funding cuts  -  Leaders anticipate federal funding declines as state policy changes compound budget stress

• EdTech Week demands evidence  -  District leaders call for rigorous, metrics-based procurement aligned to instruction and accessibility; perfunctory pilots no longer acceptable

• Mental health grants released  -  Judge orders federal government to disburse millions intended to expand mental-health staffing in schools

📚 Weekend Reads

Monthly roundup of resources you might like:

• Academic Recovery Still Elusive — Data showing students need 4.8 additional months in reading and 4.3 months in math to reach pre-pandemic levels.

• Current Term Enrollment Estimates — Spring 2025 undergraduate enrollment up 3.5% to 15.3 million students, with community colleges leading the resurgence at 5.4% growth

• Educator Pay Rankings 2024-25 — State-by-state analysis showing average teacher salary reached $74,177, yet inflation has teachers earning 5% less than a decade ago

• Public Confidence in Schools — Record-low public approval with only 13% giving schools an A or B grade, and 59% of parents preferring private school options with public funds

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