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SY26-27 · Session 1 Note

SY26-27 · Session 1 Note to Parents

Guides

What more than 1,000 students told us at the end of Session 1, who is standing in front of your kids this year, how guide staffing works, and what changes in Session 2.

say they love school
0%
guides on 46 campuses
0
applied to be a guide
0
1,000 dots. 920 lit. Across 1,000+ student surveys this session, 92% of kids say they love school.

Guide Performance · 3C delivery

We’re crushing it holistically.

Students told us the same thing at the end of Session 1 that they told us a year ago. Across 1,000+ student surveys this session, compared with Session 1 last year:

  • 0%of kids say they love school (93% last year).
  • 0%Our youngest students, PreK–3rd: 97% say they love their guide (99% last year) and 98% say their guide helps them be their best (95% last year).
  • 0%Our 4th–8th graders: 90% say their guide inspires them to be the best version of themselves (92% last year), and 75% say their guide is one of the one or two teachers who will change their life (82% last year).

At the campuses that were open both years, every one of these numbers is within a point of or above last year: love school 94% vs 92%, love your guide 98% vs 99%, guide helps me be my best 98% vs 95%, guide inspires me 91% vs 91%, guide will change my life 79% vs 80%.

Session 1 this year vs. Session 1 last year

Across 1,000+ student surveys this session, compared with Session 1 last year.

Flagship campus

Alpha Austin had its strongest Session 1 on record.

0%love school89% last year
0%of 4th–8th graders say their guide is life-changing75% last year

One number we are watching

We ask our 4th–8th graders whether their guide is the adult who will change their life. Three in four said yes after one session together; last year it was four in five. The gap is almost entirely at campuses in their first year, where guides and kids have known each other for eight weeks; at campuses open both years it is unchanged (79% vs 80%). Last year this number did not move until Session 3, when it jumped nine points.

We are not waiting for that. Every guide has the names of the kids who said “not yet” and is meeting with each of them weekly. We expect this number to climb over the next two sessions and we will report it to you at the end of each.

This year, all campuses 0% three in four
Last year, all campuses 82% four in five
Campuses open both years79% vs 80%
Last year’s patternFlat until Session 3, then +9 points
  1. Session 1Reported now: 75%
  2. Session 2We report at the end
  3. Session 3We report at the end

Who is teaching your kids

Guides are better than ever.

More than 80,000 people have applied to be an Alpha guide. We have hired a few hundred. The bar they clear has remained high: every guide in every cohort since 2021 has passed the same cognitive screen, and the average guide scores in roughly the top 10–15% of adults who take it.

80,000+ applied A few hundred hired

Here is who is standing in front of your kids this year, across 229 guides on 46 campuses:

  • 0

    hold a master’s or doctorate (52%), including 10 PhDs, EdDs, and JDs.

  • 0

    studied at Stanford, Duke, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Columbia, UVA, UNC, UChicago, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Michigan, Georgetown, or Emory.

  • 0

    were NCAA Division I athletes and 4 competed professionally or won a national Olympic trials title.

  • 0

    founded a business, school, or program before coming to Alpha.

  • 0

    worked at places like Google, Amazon Web Services, Deloitte, Disney, NBC, CBS, Fox, and the U.S. Department of State.

  • 0

    were named Teacher of the Year

    0

    are National Board Certified

    0

    are Teach For America alumni

  • 0

    ran schools as principals or heads of school; 57 held a school leadership role.

  • 0

    served in the military

    0

    are Fulbright scholars

    0

    served in the Peace Corps

Four in five guides bring at least one of these; half bring two or more.

This year’s class is the deepest classroom bench we have ever hired.

A majority of our 2026 hires have ten or more years of teaching experience, and they carry the highest share of Teacher of the Year, National Board, and Teach For America honors of any cohort.

We are the employer of choice for people who want to work with kids, because Alpha is a place to grow. Our model does not keep the same teacher in the same classroom for twenty years. Guides move from Guide to Lead Guide to Head Guide, train in monthly cohorts, and coach each other every week.

  1. Guide
  2. Lead Guide
  3. Head Guide
  4. Monthly training cohortsWeekly peer coaching

You can meet every one of them.

Each guide has a card with their background, credentials, and the thing they are proudest of. Pick your campus and click through.

Guide staffing and guide to student ratios

Here’s how staffing works

  1. 01

    Every guide owns a guide group of students they are accountable for, including lead guides.

  2. 02

    Guide Assistants do not get assigned a guide group.

  3. 03

    Ratios are set per level and are ideal, not committed. Older levels put more budget into workshops; younger levels get more guided time.

  4. 04

    Hired-but-untrained guides are placed on campus but hold no guide group until they complete the two-week training cohort (monthly cohorts; up to ~4 weeks between start and group assignment).

  5. 05

    Allocation is done upon hire, based on which campus the guide will go to and which level they work best with.

Parents should hold Alpha to the three commitments, not to a ratio.

We believe we can deliver at our ideal ratios, if we are not, tell us.

We believe we can deliver the 3 Commitments at the following guide to student ratios.

  • WonderLab / Learning Lab6:1
  • Level 19:1
  • Level 212:1
  • Middle school15:1
  • High school18:1

It changes with age. In younger levels, kids want more time with their guide. As kids get older, they’d rather the budget was spent on awesome workshops, international trips, and once in a lifetime experiences.

At 5 years old

the most motivating thing is time with their guide.

At 12 years old

the most motivating thing is to unlock a trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Session 2

Here are Session 2 changes we are rolling out so you feel more connected to the guides.

1

Guides at drop-off and pick-up

Guides will rotate through morning drop-off and pick-up so you can chat with them, have easy access to information about your kid, and bring the community together. You should expect morning drop-offs with music playing, guides and kids smiling, and a hyped-up welcoming environment.

2

Ask the guide about your student

You should always feel free to get information about your student from their guide. They spend the most time with your child and know them best. Please direct concerns or changes to your ADoP.

3

The weekly Friday note

Lead Guides will continue to send their weekly Friday note. It should include:

Friday notefrom your Lead Guide
  1. The best student limitless quote from the week.
  2. Highlights from your kid’s workshops.
  3. Questions to ask your child at dinner.