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The Primary School, a tuition-free Bay Area school co-founded by Priscilla Chan and educator Meredith Liu, has concluded operations. A report published by Futurism on April 26, 2025, said the school planned to close after the 2025–2026 school year and quoted parents who described the announcement as a shock. The school’s website now says it worked from 2016 to 2026 and that its operations have concluded.
What The Primary School was
The Primary School served families at campuses in East Palo Alto and San Leandro, California, according to Futurism’s April 2025 report. It described the school as providing free tuition alongside medical and mental health services for students and families. The report said some families had low incomes or undocumented or mixed documentation status; those details describe the community at the time, not a continuing service.
Futurism put enrollment at roughly 550 students and their families in 2025. That was an approximate figure reported at the time, not a verified count of students at closure. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, is described on its About page.
What parents said about the closure announcement
Futurism’s account of New York Times reporting said families had been invited to a breakfast meeting with administrators shortly before the closure news became public. Parent Emeline Vainikolo described the parents as “dumbfounded” and said: “Overnight, [Chan] gave us a complete reversal that none of us could have imagined.”
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Vainikolo also relayed her son’s reaction: “‘Mommy, the guy who’s been giving money to our school doesn’t want to give it to us anymore,’”
Another mother, unnamed in the report because of immigration concerns, described the school’s support for her autistic six-year-old son, including educational accommodations and help ensuring classmates did not bully him. These are parents’ accounts as quoted through Futurism’s coverage of the New York Times reporting.
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Why did the school close?
The available reporting does not establish a reason for the closure. Futurism said families were not given one. When asked whether Mark Zuckerberg’s political turn was connected to the funding decision, Carson Cook, identified as the school’s senior strategy and advancement manager, replied, “No comment.” That response does not confirm a political motive, and the school’s current website does not explain the decision.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallWhen did The Primary School close?
Futurism’s April 2025 report described a planned closure after the 2025–2026 school year. The school’s current Stories & Lessons page says: “The Primary School worked from 2016 to 2026 to build a new school model that helped students and families grow and thrive,” and states that operations have concluded.
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What is known about the impact on students and families?
The reporting captures parents’ surprise and describes services that mattered to some families. It does not establish a complete transition outcome for every student or family, or provide a verified total for the school’s staff or the families affected. Families looking for a new school would need to assess local options individually, including tuition and eligibility, grade coverage, special-education support, health or counseling services, transportation, and language or documentation requirements. The sources cited here do not identify a specific replacement school.
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