--- title: "Low-Income Families “Dumbfounded” When Told Zuckerberg Is Shutting Down Their School" description: "Priscilla Chan is shutting down her free school — and the families implicated were blindsided by the news." date: "2025-04-26" modified: "2025-04-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/zuckerberg-low-income-school-families" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "dei" - "mark zuckerberg" - "Meta" - "priscilla chan" --- # Low-Income Families “Dumbfounded” When Told Zuckerberg Is Shutting Down Their School ![Priscilla Chan is shutting down her free school — and the families implicated were blindsided by the news.]() *\Image: Craig T Fruchtman via Getty / Futurism\* Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg's pediatrician-turned-philanthropist wife, is [shutting down the free private school]() their charitable organization funds — and the families implicated were blindsided by the news. As the [*New York Times* reports](), parents at The Primary School, which Chan cofounded alongside educator Meredith Liu in 2016, weren't given any reason why the two-campus institution will shut its doors at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Founded to address the systemic racism inherent in education, the school's two campuses in the towns of San Leandro and East Palo Alto serve roughly 550 students and their families. Its [approach was unique]() even for the Bay Area: the school not only gives free tuition to kids from the neighborhood, most of whom are Latino, but also provides them and their families with free medical and mental health services. Built to "support the wellness and growth of parents alongside the wellness and growth of their children," as The Primary School [boasts on its website](), the services it offered to its low-income families — some of whom are undocumented, or are of mixed documentation status — are [life-changing](). The abrupt announcement that the school will soon be shuttering — especially after Zuckerberg and Chan's charity promised that it would [maintain its social justice roots]() in the wake of [Meta terminating]() its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs — came as a shock. "Overnight, \[Chan\] gave us a complete reversal that none of us could have imagined," one mother, who asked the *NYT* not to reveal her name due to immigration concerns, said. "That’s all we ask with our heart — that she support us and not leave us halfway with our children." That same mother told the newspaper that teachers at The Primary School not only helped her six-year-old autistic son with education accommodations, but also ensured that his classmates didn't bully him. Though she didn't explicitly verbalize her concerns, it's not hard to imagine that she may now be concerned about where her son will attend school next in an area [flush with uber-expensive private schools](). Just before news of the imminent closure went public, the families were, as Primary School parent Emeline Vainikolo told the *NYT*, invited to a breakfast meeting with administrators. Over bagels, fruit, and Starbucks, they were left "dumbfounded" after being told the school would be shuttering at the end of the next school year. According to Vainikolo, whose kindergartener son attends the school alongside several of his close family members, students and teachers alike are trying to make sense of the bait-and-switch. "'Mommy, the guy who’s been giving money to our school doesn’t want to give it to us anymore,'" the mother relayed from her son, who was apparently parroting his teacher. When the asked whether [Zuckerberg's newfound antiwokeness]() had anything to do with his charity pulling the school's funding, Carson Cook, the school's senior strategy and advancement manager, didn't have much to say. "No comment," he told the *NYT*. **More on Zuckerberg:** [*Zuckerberg Announces Layoffs After Saying Coding Jobs Will Be Replaced by AI*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()