Jeff Bezos-backed Bezos Academy opens largest preschool in Texas

Bezos Academy, the preschool organisation established by Jeff Bezos in 2020, has opened a new school in Denton, Texas, expanding its network of tuition-free early education centres in the US.

The new Bezos Academy Denton is the organisation’s largest preschool so far, with six classrooms and capacity for up to 120 children. The school is located on land owned by Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and has been developed through a partnership involving Bezos Academy, the university and the City of Denton.

The preschool provides tuition-free, Montessori-inspired education to children between the ages of three and five. Its programme operates on a full-day, year-round basis, according to information released about the facility.

One in five places reserved for TWU families

A distinctive feature of the Denton school is the allocation of places between the university community and families from the wider area.

Under the arrangement, 20% of the school's seats are reserved for children connected to Texas Woman’s University, while the remaining 80% are available to eligible families from the Denton community.

The arrangement is intended to give children of TWU students, faculty and staff access to the preschool while also making the facility available to families in the surrounding community.

The school is located at 1820 Frame Street in Denton. Its six-classroom capacity makes it the largest preschool in the Bezos Academy network.

City of Denton contributed to project

The preschool project involved financial support from the City of Denton. The city contributed $1.5 million towards the development, which has been reported as having a total project cost of about $6 million.

The facility was built on university-owned property as part of the collaboration between TWU, Bezos Academy and the city.

For TWU, the partnership provides an early-childhood education facility connected to its university community while also creating additional preschool capacity for local families.

Bezos Academy focuses on tuition-free preschool

Bezos Academy was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2020 with a focus on providing tuition-free preschool education to children from eligible families.

The organisation's schools use a Montessori-inspired educational approach. The model incorporates hands-on learning and activities designed to allow young children to learn through exploration and engagement with their surroundings.

The organisation's tuition-free model is aimed at families who meet its eligibility requirements, rather than operating as a conventional fee-paying private preschool.

The Denton school therefore combines the Bezos Academy model with a location-specific partnership involving a university and local government.

Six classrooms and 120-child capacity

The Denton facility has been designed to accommodate up to 120 preschoolers across six classrooms. The size of the centre distinguishes it from other Bezos Academy locations and makes it the organisation's largest preschool.

Children enrolled at the school receive early education during the preschool years, with the programme serving children aged three to five.

The school also follows a full-day, year-round schedule, providing families with an early-learning option that extends beyond a limited school-year programme.

A university-linked model

The partnership with Texas Woman’s University gives the Denton school a different dimension from a standalone preschool.

While the majority of places are intended for eligible families in the Denton community, the reserved allocation means children connected to the university can also access the tuition-free programme.

For TWU students with young children, the arrangement links early-childhood education with the university environment. Faculty and staff families are also among those connected to the university community that can benefit from the reserved places.

The remaining 80% of seats are available to eligible families in the broader Denton area, keeping the facility's reach beyond the university itself.

The opening of Bezos Academy Denton comes six years after Bezos launched the organisation, adding another location to its growing network of tuition-free preschools and extending its early-childhood education model to more families in Texas.