Parents of students at Bezos Academy Pacific Beach received an unwelcome surprise in their mailboxes over the weekend — letters announcing the school’s closure in June.

The letters, signed by Chief Education Officer Michael Abello, did not cite a specific reason for the closure. Bezos Academy Pacific Beach is a one classroom preschool located at Pacific Beach Elementary School in Pacific Beach, which is part of the North Beach School District.

“This was not a decision that was made lightly, and it’s come after a long period of evaluation and consideration,” the letter read, in part. “Please know that we will continue to offer you and your child the school experience you have come to expect from Bezos Academy through our last day of school on Friday, June 27, 2025.”

An internet search for the school, which opened in fall 2021, returns a result of “Nothing found, please try adjusting your search.” The Pacific Beach preschool no longer appears on the map of Bezos Academy locations.

“We have appreciated our partnership with Bezos Academy to provide early childhood education at Pacific Beach Elementary over the past four years, and we wish them success as they continue their mission in other communities,” said North Beach School Board President Jeff Albertson via email. “The North Beach School District will examine how our existing programs, including transitional kindergarten at Pacific Beach Elementary and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, can meet the needs of families and young learners in the Pacific Beach attendance area.”

Founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, there are 10 other Bezos Academy preschools in Washington state, with a new one planned for Centralia. All 10 are actively accepting applications for the 2025-26 school year. The new location, which has not started accepting applications just yet, will be housed in the United Learning Center of Lewis County in downtown Centralia.

”Pacific Beach was among the earliest schools we made plans to open at Bezos Academy. Since then, we’ve learned a lot about the space we need to effectively run a preschool,” said Bezos Academy Director of Communications Allison Leader via email. “Operating in this community has been a wonderful experience, but unfortunately, we haven’t been able to attract the number of families we had hoped. Despite efforts from us and many members of the community, we just can’t fill our seats at the level we need to continue. We are working closely with both families and staff to support them during this transition.”

Bezos Academy tuition-free (for eligible families) all-day preschools are also located in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky and Texas.

According to the official website, the Bezos Academy “program model was inspired by many of the core principles of the Montessori method. These principles include children having choice in their work, maintaining a prepared environment, and using a child’s interests and movement to support learning and cognition. We believe that these principles, among others, promote creativity, independence, collaboration, and leadership.“