The school was started in 2026 consists of five classrooms and is designed to serve children aged 3 to 5 from qualifying families. As per Bezos Academy, the campus is located at Glencroft’s retirement community and has a planned capacity of 100 students. A new preschool backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has opened inside a retirement community in Arizona. The Bezos-backed school promises to offer free arly childhood education. Along with this, the school also provides free meals and leaning materials to eligible families that have young children. The new Bezos Academy Glendale-Sahuaro Glenn campus is located at the Glencroft Center for Modern Aging in Glendale, Arizona, bringing preschool-aged children and senior residents together on the same campus.
Fortune reported that families earning up to $132,000 can apply. Applications for the 2026-27 school year had to be submitted by April 20 to be included in the lottery. The Arizona Republic has reported that the programme covers full tuition and meals for eligible children aged 3 to 5. One report says about 900 seniors live on the campus. The Glendale-Sahuaro Glenn school is Bezos Academy’s second preschool in the Glendale area, following the opening of the Glendale-Desert Garden Park campus in 2025.
Kresta Horn, head of school at the Glendale campus, said the higher income cap is meant to include children who might otherwise be missed and give them a chance to build important skills before kindergarten. Bezos Academy says it pays for the whole programme. Glencroft says the preschool is its second major intergenerational initiative in recent years. John Thorhauer, Glencroft’s CEO, said the partnership gives residents a chance to engage with younger generations, sharing their time, knowledge and experience. Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said the school creates a setting where students and seniors can learn from each other. The school’s own website says only that it is grateful to Glencroft for sharing its belief that all children deserve a great start. The new campus is expected to grow to full capacity over the coming years as additional classrooms become operational, according to reports.
The cap depends on household size, and the report’s details on this are limited, so families should check the school’s eligibility page. The network covers all operating expenses for its preschools at no cost to families, and it hires, trains and pays its own educators. That report described another Glendale campus, so check with the school for what is provided at Sahuaro Glenn, including learning materials. The academy does not offer transportation, but families do not need to live in Glendale to apply. The setting is a central part of the pitch. The opening comes as education advocates continue to highlight limited preschool access in Arizona and other parts of the United States. Bezos Academy, funded by Bezos’ philanthropic initiatives, has steadily expanded its network of tuition-free preschools across multiple states, focusing on communities where affordable early childhood education is in short supply. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.