Is this school/startup the solution to America’s education problem?

It’s no secret that public education in the United States is broken, shamefully so, but how do we fix it? Many people feel like America’s educational system is flawed all the way down to its foundation and needs to be replaced entirely, but that just leads to another question: what do we replace it with? Well, a few people in Silicon Valley have a solution, one that comes in the form of a more modern school environment and methods of teaching, and it’s… unique?

So you’re a parent, thinking about sending your 7-year-old to this rogue startup of a school you heard about from your friend’s neighbor’s sister. It’s prospective parent information day, and you make the trek to San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. You walk up to the second floor of the school, file into a glass-walled conference room overlooking a classroom, and take a seat alongside dozens of other parents who, like you, feel that public schools—with their endless bubble-filled tests, 38-kid classrooms, and antiquated approach to learning—just aren’t cutting it. At the same time, you’re thinking: this school is kind of weird. On one side of the glass is a cheery little scene, with two teachers leading two different middle school lessons on opposite ends of the room. But on the other side is something altogether unusual: an airy and open office with vaulted ceilings, sunlight streaming onto low-slung couches, and rows of hoodie-wearing employees typing away on their computers while munching on free snacks from the kitchen. And while you can’t quite be sure, you think that might be a robot on wheels roaming about.