Bezos Academy to Open at Oscar J. Pope Elementary in 2025
Polk County Public Schools has announced that a new tuition-free, full-day preschool will soon be coming to Lakeland.
Bezos Academy Lakeland will be housed in a section of Oscar J. Pope Elementary.
The five-classroom preschool will accommodate up to 100 students ages 3-5. Offering full-day, year-round programming, the Montessori-inspired curriculum focuses on hands-on activities to teach literacy, math, sensory development, social-emotional learning, and more.
Bezos Academy covers all of the operating expenses for preschool programs at no cost to the families they serve. The organization hires, trains, develops and pays talented educators, and provides everything that the children need during their day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
“This partnership will help expand access to high-quality preschool education for our most underserved families,” said PCPS Superintendent Fred Heid. “Children who participate in this program will build a strong foundation for lifelong learning.”
“Research shows that children who successfully complete preschool are more likely to graduate from high school,” Heid said. “In addition, they develop important socialization skills, including how to follow rules, share, and communicate with others.”
Bezos Academy President Mike George detailed the many benefits of the program.
“When I visit our schools, I’m always struck by the impact that a tuition-free, full-day preschool can have on a community. Preschool gets children get off to the right educational start, while also helping parents and families make time and space for their own careers,” George said. “We’re grateful to have found partners in Superintendent Heid and the Polk County School Board, who know firsthand the difference that preschool can make to a child’s future, and who are deeply invested in expanding access to early childhood education in Lakeland.”
Families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level (about $120,000 per year for a family of four) with children aged 3-4 are eligible to apply. The preschool is expected to open in 2025. Once the opening date is set, more information and an application for the lottery-based selection process will be posted at
www.bezosacademy.org