Bezos Academy officials smile during a ribbon cutting ceremony in Universal City on Tuesday. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Bezos Academy

Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ tuition-free preschool campuses celebrated their first day of classes this week.

The Amazon founder’s first and only San Antonio-area Bezos Academy, located in Universal City, welcomed its inaugural class of preschoolers on Tuesday, according to administrators.

Located on the campus of Northeast Lakeview College, the local Bezos Academy offers free preschool to children from 3 to 5 who are from families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level. That’s $125,000 annually for a family of four.

“We are excited to partner with Bezos Academy to support underserved families and help fill the childcare gap in our area,” Northeast Lakeview College President Veronica Garcia said in a statement. “As a host site, Northeast Lakeview College will work together with Bezos Academy towards a shared commitment of transforming lives one child at a time.”

One in five U.S. college students are also parents, which is partly why Bezos Academy opted to partner with Northeast Lakeview College, said Sabrina Watkins, the preschool chain’s director of partnerships.

“Partners like Northeast Lakeview College and Alamo Colleges District understand the positive impact that tuition-free, full-day preschool can have on a family, here in San Antonio and across the country,” she said in a statement.

Bezos Academy operates 23 tuition-free preschools across the nation, including nine in Texas. Besides full-day classes, the campuses offer free breakfast, lunch and dinners for students.

Bezos got the idea to start the academies after reflecting on his childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was raised by a 17-year-old single mother, he said in a promotional video.

Although enrollment for the current school year is closed, families can apply for the 2025-26 academic year starting in February.

More details about the enrollment application process are available on the Bezos Academy website.

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This article appears in Nov 13-26, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...