Bezos Academy & Northeast Lakeview College celebrate the opening of tuition-free year-round preschool

November 19, 2024

NLC-Public Relations

BEZOS ACADEMY AND NORTHEAST LAKEVIEW COLLEGE CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF TUITION-FREE, YEAR-ROUND PRESCHOOL

Preschool marks the first Bezos Academy to open in the San Antonio area

UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas (Nov. 19, 2024) – Today, Northeast Lakeview College and Bezos Academy celebrated the opening of Bezos Academy Universal City – a tuition-free, year-round, and full-day preschool for children ages three-to-five. Located on Northeast Lakeview College’s campus, the preschool is the first Bezos Academy in the San Antonio area.

“We are excited to partner with Bezos Academy to support underserved families and help fill the childcare gap in our area,” says Dr. Veronica Garcia, President of Northeast Lakeview College. “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.”

Bezos Academy Universal City features four classrooms with capacity for 80 students ages three-to-five. Bezos Academy covers all the operating expenses for its preschool programs at no cost to the families they serve. They hire, train, develop, and pay talented educators, and provide everything that children need during their day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.    

“Today, one in five college students in America is also a parent. These students are juggling their own learning and growth with the responsibilities that come with helping their children get a strong start in life,” shared Sabrina Watkins, Director of Partnerships at Bezos Academy. “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.”

Bezos Academy operates nine tuition-free preschools in Texas, with additional locations in Dallas, Lancaster, and Houston. Bezos Academy Universal City is located at Northeast Lakeview College’s Llano Wellness Center (1201 Kitty Hawk Road).

While enrollment is full for Fall 2024, details on eligibility and the lottery-based selection process are available at https://bezosacademy.org/eligibility/. Families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level, or about $125,000 per year for a family of four, with children ages three-to-five are eligible to apply.  

About Bezos Academy 

Bezos Academy is a nonprofit organization that is building a network of fully funded tuition‐free preschools. Our preschools offer year‐round, full‐day programming, five days a week, for children from low‐income families, ages three-to-five years old. Bezos Academy also provides students with all necessary educational supplies and services to set each student up for success, including Montessori materials, books, arts and crafts, field trips, and meals. For more information, visit www.bezosacademy.org. 

About Northeast Lakeview College 

Northeast Lakeview College is one of the five colleges in the Alamo Colleges District. A center for educational excellence and a Hispanic Serving Institution, Northeast Lakeview College provides access to quality academic programs and career and technical courses that prepare students for future success in in-demand careers. The College serves more than 9,000 students from northeast San Antonio and Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe Counties. Northeast Lakeview College has two locations; its main campus (1201 Kitty Hawk Rd.) and an off-site location in New Braunfels (2193 FM 758).

Click to view more photos from the ribbon cutting