The End of a Dream: Zuckerberg and Chan’s Tuition-Free School to Close Amid Major Shifts

In 2016, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan launched a bold initiative: a tuition-free school designed to serve low-income families in California’s Bay Area, near Meta’s headquarters. Known as the Primary School, it was part of their broader philanthropic work under the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). Their vision was to blend healthcare and education for students from birth through high school, a project inspired by Chan’s experience as a pediatrician and her passion for children’s welfare.

However, the Primary School recently announced that it would permanently close its doors at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. In a heartfelt message to families across its two campuses, the school described the closure as an extremely tough decision but offered little explanation beyond that. This sudden announcement has left many families searching for answers and scrambling to adjust their plans for the future.

The decision comes as CZI and its founders undergo broader transformations, mirroring shifts within Big Tech under President Donald Trump’s current administration. Parents learned that the closure stemmed from CZI pulling its support, as reported by the San Francisco Standard and The New York Times. Although CZI confirmed that the school’s board made the decision, it avoided providing direct details about funding issues. In an effort to soften the blow, the school pledged a $50 million donation to the affected communities and families.

Carson Cook, the Primary School’s senior manager of strategy and advancement, shared with CNN that meetings with parents about the shutdown began last Thursday and are still ongoing. Yet, he remained tight-lipped about the deeper reasons behind the timing and decision. Cook emphasized that the school’s mission to support children and their families holistically remains unchanged, even as it prepares to close.

CZI itself has been undergoing significant internal changes. In February, the organization announced it would scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, both internally and externally. This move followed similar shifts at Meta, which has aligned more closely with Trump’s administration in recent months. Notably, Zuckerberg and Chan had attended Trump’s inauguration years ago, sitting among Big Tech leaders.

When CZI was established in 2015, Zuckerberg vowed to donate 99% of his Facebook shares to causes like personalized education, curing disease, building community, and connecting people. The Primary School was one of the first flagship projects under this vision, aiming to counter the effects of toxic stress caused by poverty, abuse, or neglect. In a 2017 CNN column, Chan expressed hope that resilience could be nurtured in children facing trauma.

The Primary School’s innovative approach, including pairing families with "parent wellness coaches," garnered national attention. Its model of intertwining early education and healthcare became a reference for others, with the school’s medical director even presenting at the SXSW conference last month. According to a 2023 tax filing, more than 95% of the school’s students were from underrepresented minority groups.

Over the years, Zuckerberg and Chan maintained a public commitment to social issues, though Zuckerberg’s political stance has shifted noticeably. Once rumored to challenge Trump politically, Zuckerberg more recently praised Trump, visited Mar-a-Lago, and contributed significant funds to Trump’s causes. Meta even settled Trump’s lawsuit for $25 million, largely to help fund a new Trump presidential library.

As CZI pivots toward a stronger focus on science and away from social advocacy, communities like those served by the Primary School are feeling abandoned. Many Bay Area residents have long criticized Silicon Valley’s expansion for pricing lower-income families out of their homes, and now, the closure of a school designed to support these very communities feels like another blow. One parent lamented to the San Francisco Standard that losing the school was another loss for a community already under pressure.

Despite the looming closure, Cook emphasized that the school’s staff remains dedicated to making the final year as impactful as possible. "We are energized to give our students and families the best year we can," he said. "Our team’s commitment to the children, their families, and this community remains as strong as ever."