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Woman whose eyes are nothing like the sun... @sonnet130.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

After two years of plummeting enrollment, last year Miles introduced his new pilot program, Future 2 schools, whose focus on and use of AI are supposed to prepare students for our AI future. While there are currently only 9 Future 2 schools, he hopes to expand to more than 100 in the coming years

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Woman whose eyes are nothing like the sun... @sonnet130.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

All Future 2 campuses are elementary or middle schools. Currently, 2 of those 9 are using Alpha's TimeBack technology--the same technology the public charter in another state used and which only had a 21% pass rate on state mandated standardized test. HISD says it costs us nothing, but...

EDUCATION
Two Houston ISD elementary campuses will pilot Alpha School's Al- powered education program this fall
Clemente Martinez and Gregg Elementary schools will utilize "TimeBack," a two-hour learning tool developed by Alpha School that has come under criticism in other states.
BIANCA SEWARD | AUGUST 3, 2026, 4:31 PM

Houston ISD plans to use the Alpha technology for students with strong test scores "to evaluate whether this instructional approach can accelerate academic growth,' according to Its press office The office said Houston ISD wasn't paving Alpha for the pilot but did not provide more details. The district asked the Texas attornev general to withhold the contract from the newsrooms under the state's public records
act

District leaders say the program will come at no cost to HISD, adding they will evaluate the instructional approach to inform future decisions about the program
The district added in its announcement 'Houston ISD teachers will remain the teachers of record, and the pilot does not replace classroom teachers."
Houston ISD has shared minimal details about now the students will spend their day at Gregg, Martinez and the other "Future 2" schools. The district's 2026-27 budget allocated $500,000 per school in the pilot program, totaling a $4.5 million investment by the state's largest schoo district, which has been under the control of the Texas Education Agency since 2023 pecause one of its high schools received a string of failing academic ratings from the state.

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Woman whose eyes are nothing like the sun... @sonnet130.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Forgot to include this gem of a screen shot. There is evidence of Alpha's success--which is specifically that it is highly successful at failing to prepare students to even pass the incredibly flawed state mandated standardized tests. Its failing at their own metrics!

ProPublica and the 1ribune recently reportea
that Texas was among at least nine states that rejected Alpha leaders' applications to open oublicly funded charter schools that would use ts Al-driven learning tool, according to an Instagram post from the company's co- founder.
The newsrooms also found that students performed significantly worse on state- mandated exams than Alpha leaders predicted at the one charter school they got approved, in Arizona, and at an existing school in Texas where students used the Al program last year.
Morath's agency knew about results in at least one of those charters, Texas Preparatory School in Austin. Last year, state test scores compiled by his agency showed just 21% of students passed. The TEA then gave the charter its third consecutive F rating, mostly based on those scores
David DeMatthews, an education professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said it was "disheartening" and "painful" to learn that the TEA was promoting the product when the company has not yet publicly shown its success in public or charter schools, where there are likely to be more students who have learning barriers or struggle academically

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Woman whose eyes are nothing like the sun... @sonnet130.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Turns out HISD is allocating 500,000 in additional funding to each Future 2 campus, while simultaneously cutting budgets by at least $200 per student throughout the district, forcing more staff layoffs and program closures (like choir, band, debate, even more libraries)

click2houston.com

HISD cuts hit campuses across Houston as schools begin notifying families of staffing and program changes

HISD budget cuts are affecting schools across Houston, with campus notices detailing staffing, classroom and program changes.

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