Child care center to serve TWU, Denton

Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and Bezos Academy will open a tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschool for children of the university’s student-parents as well as Denton families. Additionally, the preschool will provide TWU students with hands-on learning experience. 

The preschool, named Bezos Academy Denton, will feature six classrooms with capacity for 120 students between 3 and 5 years old. An opening date has not been determined, but construction is set to be completed in fall 2025. 

Twenty percent of seats will be reserved for children within the TWU community with the other 80% serving Denton families. The City of Denton contributed $1.5 million to the $6 million project to increase the center’s capacity to accommodate the city’s growing child care needs. The preschool will offer full-day, year-round, Montessori-inspired programming. 

The preschool will also provide hands-on learning opportunities to students pursuing degrees in child development and early childhood education. 

“They will have the opportunity to complete some of their field experience requirements in the Bezos classrooms,” said Brigitte Vittrup, PhD, interim dean of the TWU’s College of Professional Education. “It offers great opportunities for experiential learning that go beyond the classroom.” 

Field experience that undergraduate students could complete at Bezos Academy Denton includes observation of developmentally appropriate practices, teaching in a preschool classroom and learning about child care administration. 

“This partnership will be a game-changer for the many families in our communities who struggle with child care costs,” said TWU Chancellor Carine Feyten. “Texas Woman’s and Bezos Academy share a mission to develop lifelong learners and leaders by increasing educational access.” 

Low-cost child care is among the most cited needs for student-parents across the country, who are especially affected by the lack of affordable child care. Nationwide, more than two-thirds of student-parents live at or near the poverty level. The Education Trust, a national advocacy organization committed to creating economic and racial parity in American education, estimates student-parents would need to work an average of 53 hours per week to cover both their education and child care costs. 

“One in five college students in America is also a parent. That means they have to focus on their educational and professional achievement while ensuring their child starts life off on the right foot,” said Mike George, president of Bezos Academy. “By bringing tuition-free, full-day preschools to schools like Texas Woman’s University, we’re hoping to help student-parents and members of their surrounding community nurture their children’s love of learning without sacrificing their own.” 

Denton Mayor Gerard Hudspeth welcomes the project, noting it will help address the city’s child care needs. 

“Across the United States, affordability is often left out of the discussion about child care supply, which causes financial strains on families,” Hudspeth said. “An ingredient to Denton’s well-being is accessing quality child care solutions that provide the educational, social and emotional foundations for our youngest residents. The city is proud to partner with Texas Woman’s University to provide an essential service that will benefit Denton into future generations.” 

This partnership supports the TWU strategic plan’s Family Matters initiative and dovetails with longtime TWU values. 

Since 2017, the Texas State Department of Health and Human Services has recognized Texas Woman’s as a mother-friendly worksite, and since 2018, TWU has earned the agency’s silver-level designation. Texas Woman’s is also recognized as one of the Best Colleges for Students with Children in the nation. 

Skip to content