The Primary School has closed after receiving more than $125 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, raising questions about academic outcomes, donor dependence and the long-term sustainability of privately funded education programs.

Editorial Note

The Primary School provided tuition-free education, health coordination, early-childhood services and family support in East Palo Alto and the East Bay. Its closure does not establish that integrated education and health programs lack value.

Financial and performance figures in this article come primarily from The Primary School, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and independent reporting. New To Education did not independently audit the organization’s spending, enrollment or academic results.

The Primary School Ends Operations After a Decade

The Primary School, an education and family-support organization co-founded by pediatrician Priscilla Chan, ended operations following the 2025–26 school year.

The organization opened in East Palo Alto, California, in 2016 and later expanded to an East Bay location. Its model combined classroom instruction with healthcare coordination, early-childhood programming and support for parents.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Chan and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, provided more than $125 million during the organization’s approximately 10 years of operation, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The governing board voted in April 2025 to close after learning that CZI would not continue providing operating support beyond the 2025–26 school year. The final school year concluded in June 2026.

The Organization Tried to Connect Education, Health and Family Support

The Primary School was built around the idea that academic performance cannot be separated entirely from health, childhood development and family stability.

Students received classroom instruction alongside services that included health screenings, dental care, behavioral support and coordination with outside healthcare providers.

Families could also receive parent coaching, child-development guidance and other forms of assistance.

The organization began working with some families before children entered kindergarten. This reflected its belief that educational disparities often develop before students reach a traditional classroom.

The approach is commonly described as a whole-child or integrated-support model.

Rather than expecting teachers to address every need alone, the organization attempted to connect educators, healthcare professionals, families and community partners.

Hundreds of Children and Families Faced a Transition

Approximately 540 children were reportedly connected to The Primary School’s school and early-childhood programs as the closure approached.

That figure may include children receiving different types of services and should not necessarily be interpreted as the number enrolled in traditional K–8 classrooms.

Families had to identify new schools, early-childhood programs and sources of health or family support.

Ravenswood City School District prepared to receive many students from the East Palo Alto location. District leaders said they were coordinating with The Primary School and examining whether some parts of its model could continue within the public system.

The transition involved more than assigning students to new classrooms.

Families also risked losing relationships with teachers, counselors, health coordinators and parent-support staff developed over several years.

What the Results Actually Showed

The Primary School reported progress in literacy, healthcare access and student wellbeing.

However, the available academic results were mixed.

A Stanford-related analysis cited by The Wall Street Journal reported that 26 percent of students in third grade or above exceeded the applicable literacy standard in spring 2025.

That was higher than a reported 14 percent among a local comparison group but lower than the statewide figure of 47 percent.

Those comparisons should be interpreted cautiously unless the students, grades, assessment periods and proficiency measures were fully aligned.

The organization also reported that more than half of its eighth-grade students demonstrated grade-level proficiency during their final year.

Health-related results appeared stronger. Approximately 85 percent of students reportedly received annual well-child visits, compared with 55 percent of Medicaid-covered children in the surrounding county.

The figures suggest that the organization may have improved access to preventive healthcare while continuing to face significant academic challenges.

The results do not support a simple conclusion that the program either succeeded completely or failed entirely.

Leadership and Operational Complexity Created Challenges

Combining education, healthcare, family services and early-childhood programs inside one organization created substantial management demands.

The Primary School experienced leadership turnover, including changes in school-level leadership.

Former employees and reporting also raised questions about whether systems for special education, student discipline and academic improvement were developed consistently during parts of the organization’s history.

Leaders were responsible for more than classroom instruction.

They also had to coordinate health services, family programs, external partnerships, data systems and support across multiple age groups.

Supporters may view that complexity as evidence that schools need broader resources.

Critics may argue that even a heavily funded organization can become less effective when it attempts to manage too many functions without sufficiently stable systems.

Why the Funding Model Failed

The closure demonstrates the risk of building an education organization around one dominant donor.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was The Primary School’s principal financial supporter.

The organization reportedly sought funding from additional donors, but that effort was difficult. Some prospective contributors may have assumed that a program associated with Chan and Zuckerberg did not need outside financial support.

The long-term hope was that parts of the model could be sustained through public funding, adopted by public or charter schools or supported by a broader donor base.

That transition did not occur at the scale needed to keep the organization operating.

When CZI decided not to continue providing operating support, The Primary School lacked a replacement funding structure capable of sustaining its locations and services.

This does not mean a donor must fund a program forever.

It does show why organizations should establish a realistic sustainability plan before families become dependent on services that may disappear when one benefactor changes priorities.

CZI’s Priorities Shifted Toward Scientific Research

The closure occurred while the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative continued placing greater emphasis on biomedical science and disease research.

CZI has not ended all education or community funding. Its public materials continue to describe investments in education, technology and local organizations.

However, science has become more central to its long-term strategy.

CZI stated that The Primary School’s board made the closure decision. Reporting also indicated that concerns about academic outcomes were part of the broader discussion surrounding continued support.

Those explanations should remain distinguished from the central structural fact: the organization depended heavily on CZI and could not continue when that operating support ended.

CZI Announced a $50 Million Transition Commitment

CZI announced a commitment of $50 million over several years to help students, families and local organizations manage the transition.

The commitment included support for parent engagement, early-childhood services, healthcare partnerships and community organizations.

CZI also funded education savings accounts for participating children.

Reported amounts included:

$10,000 for elementary-age students
$2,500 for preschool students
$1,000 for children in early-childhood programs

The commitment was intended to help reduce disruption and preserve some services after the organization closed.

It did not recreate the full daily network of educators, health staff and family-support professionals that families previously accessed through The Primary School.

Whole-Child Education Was Not Necessarily the Problem

The closure should not be treated as proof that integrated education and health services cannot work.

Many public schools already recognize that untreated health conditions, housing instability, family stress and limited access to early-childhood services can affect learning.

The Primary School appears to have improved access to preventive healthcare and provided family services that many communities struggle to obtain.

The more difficult question is whether its model produced academic gains proportionate to its cost and whether those services could be maintained without extraordinary philanthropic support.

A program may provide real benefits while still being too expensive, complex or dependent on one funder to continue.

That distinction is important.

Private Philanthropy Can Innovate Quickly but Remain Fragile

Philanthropy can finance experiments that public systems may be unable to launch quickly.

Private donors can hire additional staff, test new programs and combine services without waiting for legislation or a district-wide budget process.

That flexibility can encourage innovation.

It can also weaken long-term accountability.

Families may rely on a privately funded program without having meaningful authority over its financial decisions or continued operation.

Unlike elected school boards, private philanthropies can change strategic priorities without direct voter approval.

The Primary School therefore illustrates the difference between receiving access to a service and having lasting public control over it.

Families benefited from the organization, but they did not control whether its principal source of funding continued.

Public Schools Now Carry Part of the Responsibility

Ravenswood City School District is expected to serve many students formerly connected to The Primary School.

The district has indicated that it wants to preserve useful elements of the organization’s approach where possible.

Those elements may include stronger family engagement, health partnerships and early-childhood coordination.

However, public districts operate under different conditions.

They must serve all eligible students, comply with public accountability rules, provide legally required services and distribute limited resources across multiple schools.

A program supported by unusually large private donations may not transfer directly into a public-school budget.

The challenge is identifying which services produced measurable value and determining whether they can be delivered at a sustainable cost.

New To Education Analysis

The Primary School’s closure should reshape how education philanthropy defines success.

A program should not be judged primarily by the prominence of its founders, the amount of money invested or the attractiveness of its mission.

It should be evaluated through academic outcomes, student wellbeing, family experience, cost, leadership stability and long-term sustainability.

The organization appears to have produced meaningful health and family-support benefits. It also struggled to demonstrate consistently strong academic results and to establish a funding model independent of CZI.

Both realities can be true.

The most important lesson is that sustainability must be designed at the beginning of an education experiment.

Families deserve to know whether a program will eventually depend on public funding, additional donors, reimbursement systems or continued support from its founder.

An education model is not fully successful when its most valuable services disappear as soon as its principal donor leaves.

Lessons for Education Philanthropy

Major donors should create transition plans before launching schools or long-term community programs.

Those plans should identify how the organization will operate if the original funder reduces support.

Philanthropic education programs should also publish clear measures involving academics, student wellbeing, finances and cost per student.

Independent evaluation is especially important when the same organization funds, operates and promotes the program.

Communities should also have a meaningful role in governance and closure planning.

Parents and local leaders should not learn about major changes only after financial decisions have already been finalized.

Finally, philanthropy should consider strengthening durable public institutions rather than building parallel systems that may disappear when private priorities change.

Key Takeaways

The Primary School closed after approximately 10 years of operation.

The organization provided tuition-free education, health coordination, early-childhood services and family support in East Palo Alto and the East Bay.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative reportedly provided more than $125 million during the program’s existence.

The Primary School reported stronger access to preventive healthcare, while available academic results remained mixed.

The organization experienced leadership and operational challenges and remained heavily dependent on one principal donor.

Its board voted to close after CZI decided not to continue operating support beyond the 2025–26 school year.

CZI announced a $50 million multiyear transition commitment to support students, families and community organizations.

The closure raises questions about donor dependence, public accountability and whether privately funded education models can survive beyond their founders’ involvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was The Primary School?

It was a tuition-free education and family-support organization that combined schooling, healthcare coordination, early-childhood services and parent programs.

Who founded it?

The organization was co-founded by pediatrician Priscilla Chan and educator Meredith Liu.

How much funding did it receive?

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative provided more than $125 million over approximately a decade.

Why did it close?

The board voted to close after CZI decided not to continue operating support beyond the 2025–26 school year. Funding dependence, academic results and organizational complexity were also central to the debate.

How many children were affected?

Approximately 540 children were reportedly connected to the school and early-childhood programs, although that figure may include different categories of participants.

Did CZI provide transition assistance?

Yes. CZI announced a $50 million commitment over several years for students, families, community organizations and continuing services.

Was the organization academically successful?

The results were mixed. Some literacy measures exceeded local comparisons but remained below statewide levels, while health-access measures appeared stronger.

Where will the students go?

Many East Palo Alto students are expected to attend schools in Ravenswood City School District. Other families selected different public, charter or private options.

Final Thoughts

The Primary School was built on an ambitious idea: children may learn more effectively when education, health and family services work together.

That idea remains worth examining even though the organization has closed.

The program appears to have provided services that families valued and improved some measures of healthcare access.

It also struggled to produce consistently strong academic outcomes and to build a financial structure that could survive without its original benefactor.

The closure does not prove that whole-child education cannot work.

It shows that even a well-funded education experiment needs stable leadership, transparent evaluation, public accountability and a realistic plan for long-term survival.

The lasting measure of the more than $125 million investment will be whether the lessons and services developed through The Primary School continue benefiting children after the institution itself is gone.