Photo Credit: The Primary School Website / Banner signed by some of the former students of The Primary School
(CALIFORNIA) – The tuition-free Californian private school funded by Priscilla Chan, wife of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, quietly shut its doors in June after ten years and a nearly $125 million investment. Known as ‘The Primary School’, the educational establishment had locations in East Palo Alto and East Bay, California.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced it would begin reducing social advocacy investments in 2025, including halting funding for the high-profile educational initiative. CZI simultaneously announced it would lean toward investing funds into biomedical research and AI. Meta then announced plans to invest upwards of $130 billion in AI.
Board leaders blame the closure on CZI’s withdrawal of funding, but CZI claims the school’s independent board made the decision. The board argues it wouldn’t have agreed to closure if CZI hadn’t ended funding, even though problems were evident from the start. The school allegedly had difficulty keeping principals, regularly having to hire new staff to fill the position. Perhaps more problematic is that the school never met its long-term goal of becoming publicly funded because it couldn’t attract additional donors; CZI remained the primary funding source.
Photo Credit: CZI Website / Elmo and Priscilla Chan visit The Primary School
Additionally, the school received subpar test marks; only 26% of enrolled students met or exceeded literacy standards, well below the 47% statewide average and a mere 12% above local schools. Where the school excelled was its consistent medical assistance for students, with 85% of students receiving well-child visits annually; 30% more well-child visits than other children in the county who were on Medicaid.
Regardless of the reason behind the closure, over 540 students across two campuses and their parents were shocked, and public school districts are clamoring to prepare for the influx of new students in August and September. To aid with the transition, CZI has committed $5 million toward the closure costs and paid the remaining school lease. The philanthropy group is also providing education savings accounts for each student: $10k per elementary, $2.5k per preschooler, and $1k per child in early childhood education. It also pledged to help families apply to new schools and access college savings options.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact me at kristin.h@lead4earth.org.
0
0
Comments