The closure of two schools, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, left a centre-city family designed to question how children achieve education.
New York Times Report In a surprise announcement this week, Elementary School, a tuition-free educational institution founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, revealed that it will close its doors in the summer of 2026.
The primary school, along with its sister campus in San Leandro, California, was one of the first beneficiaries of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a charity founded several years ago a decade ago, and became infamous for its election interference. The initiative provided approximately $100 million in grants to schools and related groups from 2018 to 2024. The school is expected to ultimately serve students from infants to eighth graders, with elementary schools offering eighth graders for the first time in grades 2025-26.
Parents were eager to hear a sudden announcement made during a breakfast meeting with school administrators. Emery Vainicolo, whose son is a kindergartener at school, shares that his parents remain “umb-worthy” in the news, and no clear reason for the closure is provided.
The timing of the closure has led some families to question whether it is linked to recent changes in the attitudes of Silicon Valley technology leaders towards the DEI initiative. Many of these leaders, including Zuckerberg, are trying to bring President Trump to justice this year, resulting in a rebound to DEI’s initiatives in their businesses and charities.
School leaders and the Chan Zuckerberg initiative provide little information on the reasons behind the closure. Jean-Claude Blizzard, chair of the primary school board, stressed that the decision was not part of Zuckerberg’s DEI reduction. Instead, he cited the school’s struggle to attract funds from donors other than Chan Zuckerberg’s initiative and the inability to show enough progress to persuade public or additional private supporters to support it.
As the affected communities were working on the news, the Chan Zuckerberg initiative committed to investing $50 million in the East Palo Alto and San Leandro areas, providing educational savings accounts for school students and “transition specialists” to help families find new schools.
Please read more New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News, which covers the issues of freedom of speech and online censorship.
