Free Bezos Academy preschool coming to Orlando

The first Florida preschool program launched by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will open in an Orlando affordable housing development this fall, giving toddlers from low-income communities a shot at a premium educational start.

Ability Housing, a not-forprofit multifamily rental housing developer, said Thursday it had signed a 10-year agreement with the

Bezos Academy to open a tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschool in its Village on Mercy apartment community on Mercy Drive.

The preschool will follow a full-day, year-round schedule with space for 40 children, ages 3 and 4. Preference will be given to families who live in Village on Mercy, but the program is also open to other families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty limit.

Shannon Nazworth, president and CEO of Ability Housing, said the preschool is part of her organization’s mission of building housing that serves as “a springboard for our families’ futures, with the goal to eliminate intergenerational poverty amongst our residents.”

Bezos first outlined his plan to build a network of preschools in November 2018, when he launched the $2 billion Bezos Day One Fund that gives grants to nonprofits helping homeless families. It took another two years to open the first school, located in Washington State.

Since then, the program has opened four additional schools in Washington and announced plans for six more across the country, including the one in Orlando.

As part of the agreement with Ability Housing, the Bezos Academy will cover operating expenses for the preschool programs at no cost to the families. The academy will cover all school supplies and the children’s meals as well.

“About half of all preschoolaged kids in the U.S. aren’t in school, often due to cost or availability,” said Mike George, president of Bezos Academy. “That’s just not right.”

Extensive research has found early childhood to be a critical time for brain development. Children who attend high-quality preschool are more likely to read proficiently by third grade — an achievement closely tied to success in high school and college. Bezos, who attended a Montessori school at age 2, is a proponent of the collaborative, hands-on approach the schools employ.

“Orlando’s success can have no greater measure than the opportunities we create for our children,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Ability Housing and Bezos Academy will help shape our city’s next generation.”

More information and an application to the lotterybased selection process will be posted at bezosacademy. org once the school’s opening date is set.