Overview

• The Primary School, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan in 2016, will close after the 2025–26 academic year, citing struggles to secure diverse funding and insufficient progress to attract new backers.
• The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) provided $100 million in grants to the school from 2018 to 2024 but recently shifted its focus away from social advocacy and DEI efforts to prioritize science-related initiatives.
• More than 95% of the school’s students are underrepresented minorities, and its integrated model of education, healthcare, and family support served as a pioneering approach for addressing systemic inequities.
• CZI has pledged $50 million to support affected families, including education savings accounts and transition specialists to help students find alternative schooling options.
• The school’s closure has sparked concerns about the future of equitable education for low-income families and the implications of broader shifts in Silicon Valley philanthropy.