The Primary School, co-founded by Dr. Priscilla Chan in East Palo Alto, California, will close after the 2025–26 academic year as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ends its funding. The tuition-free school received more than $125 million from CZI over its decade of operation. About 540 students will transition to local public schools.
The Primary School, a tuition-free institution co-founded by Dr. Priscilla Chan in East Palo Alto, California, has shut its doors after a decade of operation, following a board decision to close once its main funder, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), declined to extend support beyond the 2025-26 academic year.
Why the board voted to close?
According to WSJ, the Primary School's board voted unanimously in April 2025 to shut down after learning CZI would not continue funding the school past this academic year. Board president Jean-Claude Brizard said he had laid out several paths forward for CZI, including a phased wind-down, and added that the board would not have voted to close without the funder's alignment.
A CZI spokesperson said the final call rested with the school's board, and that the organisation's focus had been on academic outcomes rather than cost. The closure also reflects a broader pivot within CZI, which has shifted its philanthropic priorities in recent years from social causes toward scientific research.
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