How Optima uses AI to grow virtual schools without losing employees

Many employees hear that AI will make their company more efficient and wonder what that means for their jobs. Leaders need to address those concerns while continuing to invest in the people who drive the business.

On today’s episode of Business Trends Today, Adam Mangana, CEO of OptimaEd and Co-Founder of Optima Academy Online (OAO), joins us to explain how to use AI to grow a business without losing your people. Optima is an education experience company that uses immersive virtual reality and AI-powered technology to transform how students learn. 

Optima’s virtual school built for engagement

Virtual schools have long struggled to keep students engaged. Optima built its model to fix that. The company teaches K-12 classes in immersive digital environments instead of the grid of faces that defines “Zoom School.” Students gather in a safe, guardrailed setting. It resembles platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite, which many children already know.

"We believe AI has liberated our employees, not put them in any kind of stressor."

Optima teaches a classical education built on the great books, including works by Epictetus and Plato. Students discuss them in Socratic seminars inside the virtual spaces. AI handles back-office automation so staff can spend more time on the human parts of the experience.

Optima started with 150 students and expects 2,000 full-time students this year. It also supports about 14,000 students through 150 school partners. The company operates mainly in Florida and Texas. Its tuition-free model is funded through education savings accounts or charters.

Keeping teachers at the center of AI

Optima keeps teachers at the center of every class, and AI is used to support that relationship. Mangana said the assumption that AI means job cuts is a false choice for a human capital company.

Optima’s teachers work from home, and each has a digital twin tutor that handles intervention work. AI does repetitive tasks in education well. Mangana divides a curriculum into what is planned, what is delivered and what is received. Planned covers pre-readings and lesson plans, while received covers assessments.

AI also speeds up admissions, which are often analog and slowed by waitlists in traditional schools. Optima uses AI to run first screenings of inbound calls. The most interested families then speak with admissions officers. After enrollment, AI helps assess where students stand and design interventions, and staff carry out that work.

Transparency and flexibility drive workplace honors

Transparency and authenticity matter most when a company introduces AI, Mangana said. Many technology executives say AI will take jobs or make work unnecessary. Neither message works for a teacher who wants to build relationships with students.

Optima tells teachers it will give their time back. That frees them from monotonous work to focus on relationships. Employees respond when the company’s promises match what they signed up to do.

"When you can align people's expectations with reality of what they actually signed up for, it's funny how it works. People love working there." 

Remote work adds to the appeal. Optima has 150 employees, and about 60% of them work remotely. Some teachers travel while they teach, such as leading lessons on ancient Rome from Rome itself. The company has attracted top teachers who are tired of brick-and-mortar constraints, including duties outside instruction, Mangana said.

Deciding what to automate

Every automated task at Optima still has a person checking the work. Companies moving from basic large language models to AI agents need that oversight, Mangana said.

Optima builds systems that connect multiple agents across workflows. A person tracks each agent’s progress and redirects it when needed. The company starts with the tasks that cause employees the most friction or pain. Removing those tasks gives people more time for the work they find most fulfilling.

Mangana compares the agents to junior employees. Handing an employee several junior staffers only helps if it lightens the load.