Mark Zuckerberg and wife Chan’s school to shut down after 10 years, leaving parents stunned

Dubai: A tuition-free school created by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan to serve low-income families in California’s Bay Area is shutting down after 10 years — a move that has left families stunned, The New York Times reported.

Founded in 2016 through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), The Primary School in East Palo Alto offered a unique model that combined academics, healthcare, and social services to support children facing poverty and trauma. Over 95% of its students are from underrepresented minority backgrounds.

According to The New York Times, parents were invited to a breakfast meeting, where they were abruptly informed the school would close at the end of the 2025–26 academic year. The decision followed CZI’s withdrawal of financial support, which led the school’s board to approve the shutdown.

Carson Cook, a senior manager at The Primary School, confirmed to CNN that discussions have begun with families to facilitate their transition to alternative educational arrangements. However, Cook declined to elaborate on the specific timing or the underlying reasons for CZI's decision to withdraw support.

The closure of The Primary School appears to be indicative of a broader change in philanthropic focus within the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. As reported by The New York Times and the San Francisco Standard, CZI has announced its intention to wind down its social impact work, which included initiatives focused on racial equity and immigration reform. This shift in priorities will see the organization increasingly concentrate on its science-focused mission. This development follows Meta's own recent scaling back of diversity programs and content moderation efforts.

While CZI has pledged $50 million to support the affected communities in the wake of the school's closure, many within the community feel a significant loss. One parent poignantly described the school to The Standard as "a gift to the community" amidst the challenging Bay Area housing crisis, expressing dismay at its impending removal.

Despite the disappointment surrounding the closure, school leaders have emphasised their commitment to making the final academic year as impactful as possible for their students. "Our team cares very deeply about our children, our families and about this community," stated Carson Cook.

CNN provides context, noting that Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2015 with a commitment to donate 99% of Zuckerberg's Facebook shares. The initiative's initial broad goals included advancing personalized learning, disease cures, community building, and global connectivity.

The Primary School, founded in 2016, was an early and significant investment, specifically designed to address "toxic stress" in children from underprivileged backgrounds through an integrated model of education, healthcare, and family support.

The school's innovative approach, which included assigning "parent wellness coaches," was initially lauded as a potential model for early childhood development, serving a student population where over 95% identified as being from underrepresented minority groups.

However, CZI's February announcement of a strategic pivot away from social advocacy towards a greater emphasis on science signals a significant change in the organization's direction.

This shift in philanthropic focus also aligns with broader changes in Mark Zuckerberg's public stance, with Meta scaling back diversity initiatives and reportedly aligning more closely with conservative viewpoints.

For the families who relied on The Primary School, its closure represents not only a personal setback but also a tangible example of how the evolving priorities of Big Tech philanthropy can directly reshape their communities.