LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Okolona neighborhood in Louisville will soon be home to an academy founded by Amazon owner, Jeff Bezos.
Bezos Academy is a network of tuition-free Montessori-inspired preschools across the nation.
LDG Development signed a ten-year lease agreement with Bezos Academy on Thursday to have the academy's newest location be adjoined to Jefferson Green and Jefferson's Landing.
According to Bezos Academy's website, their preschools offer year-round programming, five days a week, for children ages 3-5 years old. The Louisville location will feature four classrooms. At full capacity, the preschool will accommodate up to 80 children.
The academy said less than half of the children in the U.S. have access to preschool, due to both a lack of pre-schools and existing pre-schools being too expensive -- two issues they are trying to solve.
"Bezos Academy aims to nurture the potential in every child to become a creative leader, original thinker, and lifelong learner by increasing access to early childhood education in under-resourced communities," a statement on the academy's website said.
JCPS superintendent Marty Pollio spoke on Thursday about the difference a good pre-school education can have on a child's life.
“If [students] enter kindergarten behind, they believe they’re behind. Then they believe ‘I’m not intelligent, I’m not good at school. I don’t read well. I can’t do math.’ That continues throughout their childhood into high school and it causes problems from that point forward," Pollio said. "When instead, it’s just about giving them the resources that they need prior to entering kindergarten.”
Kentucky will be the fourth state the academy operates in. The academy currently has 11 schools operating in 3 states: Washington, Texas and Florida.
Bezos Academy is scheduled to open in 2025.
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