The future of school is already here.
What can we learn from schools that are replacing conventional instruction with AI apps, mentorship, and hands-on learning?
I'm Heather Clayton Staker, co-author of Blended. I'm exploring the schools, technologies, and ideas transforming education—and writing a new book about what I'm discovering.
Register for the Alpha School webinar
A new generation of schools is emerging.
Acton Academy
Ad Astra
Alpha School
Greater Dayton
Khan Lab School
Prenda
Slope School
Zero School
What do these schools have in common? Where do they differ? And what can the rest of education learn from them?
Meet your guideHi, I'm Heather Clayton Staker.
For more than a century, schools have organized learning around one teacher delivering instruction to a classroom of students.
Now, a new generation of schools is challenging that model.
Acton Academy is pioneering learner-driven education. Alpha School is attracting national attention for its AI-powered academic model. And at Zero School in Indonesia, we've been experimenting with personalized learning on a tiny tropical island.
These schools are asking a radical question: What becomes possible when technology takes over much of the instruction, freeing adults to become mentors, coaches, and guides?
I'm studying what works, what doesn't, and what these experiments mean for the future of education.
Next live webinar: Alpha School — Hype, Hope, or the Future of Education?
November 18, 2026 at 4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT, 7pm ET
$7 per ticket | Live online | No replays
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Take From Teacher to Guide, a self-paced course developed with Arizona State University and the Clayton Christensen Institute.
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Join me to prepare for the future of school.
I'm the co-author of Blended, a former Christensen Institute researcher and McKinsey analyst, and the founder of Guide School.
I'm writing a new book about the schools pioneering the next era of education.
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