Bezos Academy, funded by Jeff Bezos’ $2B ‘Day One Fund,’ launches first free school in Seattle area

The Day 1 Academies Fund is gearing up to open the inaugural school in its new network of full scholarship Montessori-inspired preschools in underserved communities.

The nonprofit, backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ $2 billion Day One Fund, will open a new school on Oct. 19 in Des Moines, Wash., just south of Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.

Bezos first unveiled the Day One Fund two years ago, setting aside $2 billion for the “Day 1 Academies Fund” and the “Day 1 Families Fund,” which addresses homelessness.

The Academies Fund will directly operate the schools for children 3-5 years old using “the same set of principles that have driven Amazon,” according to its website.

“Most important among those will be genuine, intense customer obsession,” the website reads. “The child will be the customer. ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’ And lighting that fire early is a giant leg up for any child.”

Here’s more about how the fund picks communities to open up its schools:

In selecting communities for our preschools, we consider a wide range of data, including income levels, participation in free and reduced-cost meal programs, and gaps in access to licensed childcare providers. We also look for local organizations and businesses that understand the needs of their community members and are excited about the prospect of hosting a tuition-free, high-quality preschool in their neighborhood.

Mike George, an ex-Amazon vice president who oversaw some of the company’s most successful products, is leading the Academies Fund. George retired from Amazon in July 2017 after nearly 20 years at the tech giant, where he held multiple leadership positions spanning hardware to HR. He was most recently vice president of Echo, Alexa, and the Appstore.

Wesley Homes, a retirement community and facility provider, partnered with the Academies Fund to help open the Des Moines location.

The Day One Fund last year announced initial grants from the Families Fund for organizations that aim to prevent and reduce homelessness.

“Day One” is a reference to Bezos’ mantra at Amazon, that it’s essential to approach every day with the enthusiasm and energy of a new venture because it’s “always Day One.”

Bezos, himself a product of Montessori education, last year announced a separate $10 billion fund to fight climate change.

With Amazon’s market value soaring past $1.5 trillion, Bezos has become the richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of more than $175 billion, positioning him to make a major impact on the world impact with his new philanthropic pursuits.

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New UW COVID-19 study will test 7k people across WA state, funded by $3.4M from Allen Foundation

Inside the UW Medicine Virology Lab. (University of Washington Photo)

The University of Washington will test a random sample of 7,000 people across Washington state for COVID-19 and related antibodies multiple times over eight months in a new effort to better understand the spread of the disease.

The approach is intended to provide a more statistically accurate picture of COVID-19 than existing testing, which includes a disproportionate number of people who believe they may have been exposed to the disease, potentially skewing the results due to self-selection. The study, announced this morning by the Washington state Department of Health and UW Medicine, will be funded by a $3.4 million grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Researchers will find participants from communities across the state, including people from rural and urban areas, with an emphasis on ensuring full representation across diverse socioeconomic and racial groups. Participants will first receive a COVID-19 diagnostic test, to determine if they currently have COVID-19, followed by three serologic tests to detect antibodies indicating a past infection.

While some other states are conducting or planning similar studies, Washington’s study will be one of the most comprehensive, if not the most comprehensive, studies of its kind, in terms of the number of samples collected, as well as the geographic, racial and ethnic diversity, said Dr. Keith Jerome, head of the Virology Division at UW Medicine, in a briefing with reporters.

The level of funding enables a “very, very robust study,” he said.

Officials expect the first results this fall. State officials say the study will help to inform future decisions on safety guidelines and other initiatives to slow and stop the disease.

Another goal is to determine the extent to which antibodies protect people from contracting the disease a second time.

“We know the antibodies tell you in a very reliable way whether you’ve had the infection,” Jerome said. “But one thing we all hope is that the antibodies also mean that you have at least some protection from the virus and from future infections. And we’re optimistic that this study may help provide data that tells us whether that’s true.”

The announcement comes amid a surge in cases in the state, coinciding with an increase in testing, six months since the state launched its COVID-19 response.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Washington state rose 71% over the past week, reaching a new weekly high of more than 6,800 reported cases. In their latest situation report, scientists and Washington state public health officials call the growth in cases an “explosive situation” and “a matter of utmost urgency.”

Deaths and hospitalizations are significantly lower than they were during the prior peak of the disease. That difference is “really encouraging,” but the increase in cases is still cause for concern, said Dr. Kathy Lofy, the state health officer and chief science officer for Washington state, during the briefing with reporters this morning.

“We’re seeing less severe disease than we saw earlier on, so I think that we have been pretty successful in protecting those in our populations that are at highest risk for severe disease,” Lofy said. “What we’re seeing now is more disease around younger individuals. We’re very concerned that this disease that’s mostly focused in younger individuals is going to spread out to all of the age groups. And we’re very concerned that that will lead to more hospitalizations and deaths.”

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