AltSchool, a start-up whose investors include Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel, will close its East Village location at the end of the academic year, BusinessInsider first reported.
The Wall Street Journal noted that AltSchool is closing three of their seven private schools "so they can concentrate on developing their software platform for districts to purchase." The East Village location opened last year at 1 Avenue B at East Houston.
Here's more about AltSchool, which charges $27,000 annual tuition for students in kindergarden through fifth grade (these paragraphs are via the Journal):
The small schools serve as laboratories for AltSchool to refine a platform that organizes students’ work and tailors assignments to their individual needs...
And...
AltSchool is part of a “personalized learning” movement that has fans and skeptics. Supporters say it helps children become self-directed and resilient, which will help them in a modern workplace. Critics say hype about the approach has run ahead of any extensive research showing it works.
AltSchool officials sent emails about the East Village closure to parents this past Thursday evening.