Zuckerberg Closes Schools Serving Diverse Communities of Color Amidst Trump's Enhanced Focus on Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
The Looming Closure of The Primary School: A Loss for Underserved Communities
Stepping back in time to 2016, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, and his partner, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, opened The Primary School, a tuition-free private institution with a noble purpose: providing education, healthcare, and social services to low-income families and communities of color. Fast-forward to the present, and after a decade of operation in East Palo Alto, the school has announced it will shut its doors next year - allegedly due to a funding crisis, a predicament that seemingly shouldn't be an issue when you're backed by billionaires.
Over the past decade, political tides have shifted dramatically, making it hard not to suspect that the timing of The Primary School's closure is linked to these changing winds. When it first opened, the school recognized the hurdles faced by families in low-income neighborhoods, who often lack access to adequately funded education options. On its website, the school acknowledged, "Because of systemic racism, communities of color are disproportionately affected by these challenges and have the added burden of not being able to afford or access adequate services." The school was established with a diverse team boasting backgrounds in education, healthcare, and family support to extend resources to underserved communities.
Currently, the scent in the air resembles DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) to the Trump administration, and Zuckerberg has been kneeing deep in cozying up to the President and his minions to serve his own ends.
Earlier this year, Zuckerberg announced that Meta was axing its DEI programs, and the same witch-hunt against anything faintly hinting at diversity also hit the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic arm of Zuckerberg's empire, according to The Guardian. The initiative scrubbed references to inclusivity or economic fairness from its website and informed its employees it was dissolving its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility team - all fallout from Trump's crackdown on DEI in various programs, including attempting to withhold federal funding from schools that deem inclusivity important.
Closing the school may simply be Zuckerberg readjusting where his money flows to suit his current interests. However, for the families who rely on The Primary School, the decision is devastating. Beyond the classroom, the school offered access to services they might have otherwise struggled to secure.
Veronica Van Leeuwaarde, a mother of two students who attended The Primary School, shared with the San Francisco Standard that employees at the school helped her secure an appointment at Kaiser Permanente to discuss her son's learning difficulties, eventually leading to his ADHD diagnosis and treatment. "Talking about it still makes me want to cry, because it has impacted my family so much," she told the Standard.
The school will offer families between $1,000 to $10,000 to help them enroll their children in another school, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. However, the average tuition cost for private elementary school in Palo Alto is approximately $35,000, and $16,500 per year across California, so this financial aid won't take families very far.
It's worth noting that The Chronicle did mention a decline in funding for The Primary School, with contributions dropping from $8 million in 2022 to $3.7 million in 2023 - a significant drop in funding to operate. One has to wonder if this worthwhile project, backed by people worth nearly $200 billion, wouldn't be a suitable candidate for a symbolic investment to keep it open.
While the official reason for the closure hasn't been explicitly detailed, it appears that financial and strategic shifts within Zuckerberg's philanthropic efforts, rather than a lack of community impact, are the primary factors at play. In a bid to soften the blow, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has pledged to invest $50 million over five years in East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and East Bay communities to help families transition smoothly. This investment aims to support education savings accounts, early childhood programs, and family engagement services to sustain the school's legacy and assist students as they find alternative educational options.
- The closure of The Primary School, a once innovative tech-focused institution, has left many questioning the role technology giants play in education-and-self-development and general news.
- The timing of the shutdown of The Primary School raises concerns, particularly given Zuckerberg's recent dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in his tech company, Meta, and philanthropic initiative, further highlighted in reports by outlets like Gizmodo and The Guardian.
- As politics increasingly shapes education policies, it's crucial for underserved communities to find new avenues for tech and educational support, perhaps spotlighting the need for policies that ensure equitable access to technology and quality education in all communities.
