A tuition-free preschool has opened its doors inside a Glendale retirement community, putting toddlers and retirees under one roof. Bezos Academy Glendale–Sahuaro Glenn is a five-classroom school located at Glencroft Center for Modern Aging, and it offers free tuition, meals and educational materials to eligible families with children ages 3 to 5.
The school sits at 6511 W Alice Ave. on Glencroft's campus, according to a Glencroft Center for Modern Aging and Bezos Academy announcement. As reported by The Arizona Republic, Glencroft Center for Modern Aging houses the new Bezos Academy, and Tommy Medina is the chief people officer for Glencroft Center for Modern Aging. Kresta Horn is the head of school at the new Bezos Academy in Glendale, per the same Arizona Republic report, which credited photographs to Erick Trevino.
Who Qualifies for the Free Program
Bezos Academy Glendale–Sahuaro Glenn serves households at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, though the exact dollar figure has shifted across different announcements. A 2023 statement from Glencroft put that threshold at roughly $120,000 a year for a family of four, while a report from yourvalley.net cited about $128,600. A more recent announcement from Glencroft Center for Modern Aging and Bezos Academy pegged the figure at approximately $132,000 per year and said admissions run through a lottery-based process.
The school follows a Montessori-inspired approach, according to Glencroft's earlier announcement, and Bezos Academy provides programming five days a week for children ages 3 to 5, per the organization's own site, bezosacademy.org. The Glendale campus is planned to grow from four classrooms by October to five the following year, reaching a total capacity of 100 students by the 2027-28 school year, according to a report from Yahoo News.
A Second Campus in the Glendale Area
Glendale–Sahuaro Glenn is Bezos Academy's second preschool in the Glendale area, following the Glendale–Desert Garden Park campus, which opened in fall 2025, per the Glencroft Center for Modern Aging and Bezos Academy announcement. Earlier plans had described that first Glendale campus differently: a 2025 report from azcentral.com said the classrooms opening for the 2025-26 school year would be in a remodeled building on Desert Garden Preschool property, operating independently of that preschool.
Pairing preschoolers with senior communities isn't new for the network. In Dallas, a Bezos Academy preschool opened at Forefront Living's Presbyterian Village North senior living community for fall 2022 under a 10-year lease agreement, according to Dallas Innovates. That campus was described as the first Bezos Academy hosted by a Texas senior living community and the second such pairing nationwide.
Filling a Gap in Arizona Preschool Access
The Glendale opening arrives against a backdrop of thin public preschool access statewide. Arizona ranked 43rd nationally for enrollment of 4-year-olds in public preschool programs, according to the 2023 State of Preschool Yearbook cited by azcentral.com, while a later figure reported by Yahoo News put Arizona at 45th in the country. Yahoo News also reported that the share of Arizona third-graders proficient in reading fell to 36% in 2025, described as 10 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels.
The shortage isn't unique to Arizona. A 2023 report from USA Today noted that half of Americans live in a so-called child-care desert, at a time when Bezos Academy operated 16 preschools across Washington, Texas and Florida and was aiming for nearly 20 by the end of that year. The network has since expanded considerably; Senior Housing News reported that there are now 32 Bezos Academy schools across the country.
