Overview
- Documents obtained by WIRED indicate the Bicken Ben School began operating around 2021 at the Crescent Park estate and did not secure required permits until 2022.
- Reporting describes enrollment of roughly 30 to 40 children in a Montessori-style program run from the Palo Alto property.
- Palo Alto issued a cease-operations order with a June 30 deadline after sustained neighbor complaints about traffic, construction noise, and private security.
- State records show the school closed in August 2025, though a spokesperson for the Zuckerberg family told WIRED it had relocated.
- Palo Alto spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor said the city enforces rules consistently without regard to ownership as neighbors pressed officials over perceived special treatment.