On September 17, Springfield Education Association members met to discuss their response to the introduction of Alpha School’s AI education program to some schools in the Springfield Empowerment Zone. This program, whose results have not been independently reviewed or confirmed, would significantly change the role of educators in the classroom by replacing academic instruction with AI-based learning programs, and the decision was made without the union’s knowledge or input.
SEA President Riley Hernandez emphasized the rushed and secretive nature of the decision, saying “We [SEA] only heard about it because we submitted a pretty detailed information request to the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership after we received a tip that Alpha School was now working in Kylie Prep,” (Riley Hernandez, via New England Public Media). Hernandez also said that the union had “sent in a Cease and Desist” to the district to stop them, at least temporarily, from continuing with the implementation of the new program.
Alpha School advertises a school day where students spend two hours on academics, delivered by Alpha School’s AI learning platform rather than an educator, supervised by guides who are not teachers. On the issue of educators being replaced by AI and unlicensed guides, Hernandez said “We believe that degrades the profession [and] disrupts the very important human relationship between teacher and student, and we think that there’s so much more to teaching than a student just receiving content from an AI tutor” (via New England Public Media).
Los Angeles and New York City public schools, the two largest public school districts in the country, have put temporary moratoria on student AI use in place. Parents, educators, students, and community allies have raised concerns about the growing role of AI in education, including the collection of large amounts of personal student information, which is central to the “personalization” of the Alpha School platform. Springfield educators and students deserve better than to be guinea pigs in the schemes of out-of-state billionaires’ business plans.
Although the district has put the partnership on hold for this year, nothing is stopping them from continuing with this program in the future. SEA are looking for support from parents and other members of the community, and hosted a community forum for teachers, parents, students, and community members on Wednesday, 10/14 from 6 to 8 PM at Mt. Zion Baptist Church/Dunbar Community Center, 33 Oak Street, Springfield, MA.