Robotics, AI, and School Choice: A Conversation with Jennifer Wolverton of MARS Microschool

Artificial intelligence and robotics are no longer futuristic concepts; they’re rapidly becoming part of everyday life, including education. But how should schools respond? And what does it look like to integrate AI thoughtfully without losing human creativity, critical thinking, or civic responsibility?

In this conversation, Jennifer Wolverton, founder of MARS Microschool in Huntsville, Alabama, shares how her school is combining robotics, AI, writing, civics, and classical education to prepare students for what’s coming next. From robot dogs to AI-assisted novel writing, Jennifer makes a compelling case for why smaller, more flexible learning environments may be best positioned for the future.

Q: Jennifer, before we jump in, can you introduce yourself and share how MARS Microschool got started?

Jennifer Wolverton: MARS was really the outcome of a long journey rather than something I ever planned to start. I began my career as an engineer, then became a homeschool mom. Because of my engineering background and love for math, I ended up teaching a lot of math and eventually writing my own curriculum after discovering classical education and realizing I didn’t love many of the existing options.

When my family moved to Huntsville, Alabama—“Rocket City”—I was excited. I assumed there would be great STEM opportunities for homeschoolers. What I found instead was that most programs were geared toward traditional school students after 3 p.m. Homeschoolers want meaningful learning during the school day too.

So, like many homeschool moms, I created something for my youngest son—and that became MARS. Today, we’re all-in on advanced STEM, robotics, AI, and innovative learning experiences.

Q: What do students work on at MARS? What makes it different from traditional schools?

Jennifer Wolverton: We offer a mix of in-house courses and what I call “endorsed curriculum.” Some of our in-house programs include the AI Writers Guild, where students write novels with the assistance of AI, and Grammar Foundry, which we developed ourselves.

One of our newest initiatives is an AI Editing Lab. Students alternate between “human-only” weeks, where they write without AI, and AI-assisted weeks, where they run their own work through an AI and grade themselves using very detailed rubrics. The goal is mastery: students deeply understand each element of good writing before moving on.

Beyond writing, we focus heavily on robotics. Last year we worked with quadrupeds; this year we introduced drones and combined them with physics to create our own drone physics curriculum. We also teach algebra, podcasting through history, and more.

Robots are coming—and I want American students to be the ones building them.

Q: Many parents worry that AI is harmful or something kids should avoid. Why do you believe it’s important to integrate AI into education now?

Jennifer Wolverton: AI isn’t going away. Our kids are going to live with it for the rest of their lives, so avoidance isn’t a real solution.

What’s especially important is teaching civics alongside AI. We should be having ongoing conversations about AI ethics, regulation, and governance. How should society interact with AI and robots? What laws should exist? Who decides?

At MARS, students actually write mock legislation about AI. One of my favorite student-written bills was about making sure robots could never have supremacy over humans or write laws themselves. We were literally using AI to help legislate AI.

Our kids are digital natives. They need guidance, not bans.

Q: Is there a risk that all this AI learning just becomes more screen time?

Jennifer Wolverton: That’s a very valid concern, and I hear it often. But what many people don’t realize is that the future won’t look like kids staring at laptops all day.

Hardware is changing. Humanoid robots are being developed right now. In the future, students may have physical AI tutors; robot companions that can answer questions, walk with them, or help them learn in a more embodied way.

We’re already experimenting with this using a quadruped robot called Petoi, which students are designing and programming as part of their learning. Screen time is a concern today, but I don’t think it will be in five or ten years as hardware evolves.

Q: What worries you most about the rapid growth of AI in education?

Jennifer Wolverton: My biggest concern is scale and speed; specifically with large public school systems. About 80% of students are in public schools, and those systems move slowly.

I created the AI Writers Guild about two years ago. Within six months, the curriculum already needed major revisions because the technology had changed so much. Large systems that invest millions in long-term contracts can’t pivot that fast.

That’s why I think homeschooling and micro-schools are so important. They can adapt quickly as technology evolves, which is critical at this moment.

Q: Do you think micro-schools are best positioned for the future?

Jennifer Wolverton: Yes! Micro-schools sit in a sweet spot. They’re small enough to be flexible but often have more resources than individual homeschool families.

They may not be able to afford everything yet—I can’t buy a $20,000 humanoid robot today—but they can still experiment, adapt, and innovate faster than large institutions.

Q: What can parents do right now to help their kids engage with AI in healthy, productive ways?

Jennifer Wolverton: There isn’t much great curriculum available yet, which is why we’re developing AI unit studies at MARS. Each unit is about three weeks long, and families can choose from different topics—ethics, art, practical AI tools, and more—depending on what they’re ready for.

Some families just want to start with ethics, and that’s completely fine. Others want to explore creative tools like AI art. These units will be available soon at micromars.org.

Q: Some parents worry that using AI means kids won’t think deeply. How do you respond to that?

Jennifer Wolverton: I think AI is like those moving walkways at the airport; it helps you move faster, not stop walking.

Instead of writing five-paragraph essays forever, students can now aim bigger. We’re not thinking smaller; we’re thinking larger. AI can’t write a novel on its own in a meaningful way—but kids can, with guidance.

One of our first assignments in AI Writers Guild is attempting a “one-prompt novel.” It doesn’t work, but the process is incredibly fun and creative, and it pushes students to think deeply about storytelling, structure, and ideas.

The key is using AI well, not avoiding it.

Q: Do you have a student story that really illustrates the impact of this kind of learning?

Jennifer Wolverton: Yes. I had a student with cerebral palsy who struggled with writing and high school-level coursework. We were using a platform called VictoryXR, which includes a virtual “HoloTutor.”

He spent hours designing lessons inside the system and ended up mastering high school biology in a way that traditional methods hadn’t worked for him. His mom was emotional when she told me how transformative it was.

For some students, technology isn’t a distraction—it’s the accommodation that finally makes learning accessible.

Q: What emerging technology excites you most right now?

Jennifer Wolverton: The quadruped robots. They’re like robot dogs, and students build them from scratch, calibrate their joints, and program them. It opens the door to physics, engineering, programming, and systems thinking.

My long-term goal is to turn one into a mascot bot for MARS—loaded with our curriculum and able to tutor students on what they’re learning.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to leave readers with?

Jennifer Wolverton: Yes—we recently published a book called The AI-Driven Education Revolution, which documents our first year at MARS. We’re excited to be part of what’s next in education and to help shape that future thoughtfully and responsibly.

Visit marsmicroschool.ai for more info.