New Initiative To Provide Free Preschool Program
Amazon Founder Becomes Education Philanthropist
The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has announced his latest philanthropic venture of offering free preschool programs nationwide to promote the Bezos Academy. This project will build a network of tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschools in underserved communities beginning in Washington, Texas, and Florida. The Bezos Academy will offer free preschool year-round programs, five days a week for children ages 3-5 years old. The mission of Bezos Academy is that children always come first as all children deserve a good start in life beginning with preschool. Bezos Academy offers a program for nurturing the potential in every child to become a lifelong learner, creative leader, and original thinker starting with increasing access to early childhood education.
The Benefits of an Early Education
The importance of early education starts at a crucial time in brain development as more than 50 years of research prove a high-quality preschool has advantages for children and their families. The Bezos Academy program will teach important skill-building techniques like reading comprehension that will benefit the child with positive lifelong outcomes. The program model is inspired by the principles of the Montessori method such as maintaining a prepared environment and giving children a choice in their work. The Montessori method utilizes a child’s interests and movement to support cognitive learning while promoting leadership, creativity, collaboration, and independence.
People Across All Industries to Benefit From Their Montessori Educations:
- Jeff Bezos – founder and CEO of Amazon
- Sean “Diddy” Combs – Grammy award-winning musician, founder of Bad Boy Records
- Larry Page and Sergey Brin – co-founders of Google
- Taylor Swift – Grammy award-winning musician
- Yo Yo Ma – Grammy award-winning cellist, United Nations Peace Ambassador,
Presidential Medal of Freedom, and National Medal of the Arts recipient - Julia Child – chef, author, television personality
- Steph Curry – NBA player
- Gabriel García Marquez – author, Nobel Prize in Literature recipient
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis – former First Lady of the United States
Considering The Cost Of Preschool
The average cost of full-time, year-round preschool in the U.S. is $13,655 per child annually making childcare a significant portion of a family’s budget. Full-day preschool programs yields more positive effects on student outcomes compared to part-time or half-day programs while providing more reliability and consistency for families. There might be a cost associated with preschool but holds value as high-quality preschool has a lasting effect on children while improving emotional, academic, and social skills. The biggest benefits are demonstrated among children facing tough challenges like children living in poverty, multilingual learners, and children with disabilities (Heckman, 2016).
Enrollment and Eligibility
Students who are eligible for enrollment at the Bezos Academy must be three or four years old as of September 1, 2021, and requests families ensure their child is toilet trained by the first day of school (Eligibility and Application – Bezos Academy, 2021). Eligibility will also be determined by household income that is defined by all the people (adults and children) living in one home whether related or not. The household income is determined by the total annual income from anyone in the household and students eligible for the Bezos Academy can be up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) with half of the reserved seats for students of households up to 250% of the FPL. Parents can submit an application (one per child) if eligible for the program and complete registration with enrollment forms if accepted (Smart Choice powered by SchoolMint®, 2022). You can learn more about the Bezos Academy program on the official website. Would you consider applying to enroll your child to be a student at the Bezos Academy?
