Alpha School’s Ritzy New York City Campus Costs $65,000 a Year—but Isn’t Actually a School

Key points

• In the fall of 2025, top executives from Alpha School gathered a group of wealthy New York City parents at a series of information sessions in Lower Manhattan to pitch them on the company’s new campus.
• The events, some of which were hosted by Alpha cofounder MacKenzie Price and its billionaire principal, Joe Liemandt, were designed to show how Alpha was “redefining school” through AI-powered learning models.
• The goal: persuade families to ditch the city’s traditional education system and join what Alpha initially called “the most forward-thinking private school in New York.” The pitch seems to have worked.
• This school year, more than a dozen families have been sending their children to the sixth and seventh floors of the skyscraper at 180 Maiden Lane.
• According to the current Alpha New York web page, the “school day” runs from 8:15 am to 4:00 pm, and the stated “tuition” is $65,000 a...