Dive Brief:
- In East Palo Alto, The Primary School — led by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's wife, Priscilla Chan — will provide free healthcare and tuition for all students.
- The school, which boasts an on-site clinic, is founded on the premise that student health is intrinsically linked to learning.
- Some surveys show 25% of school-age children suffer from chronic health conditions that may affect their performance in school.
Dive Insight:
At The Primary School, a holistic approach accounting for both health and education are key, as is the importance of a community partnership model. East Palo Alto is largely Latino and not nearly as affluent as surrounding Silicon Valley. The school is expected to have a student body of 700 and is slated to open next August.
In a Facebook post, CEO Chan recounted her own personal experience running an afterschool program in a poor neighborhood and working as a pediatrician.
“[It] has shown me first hand that we need a better way of caring for and educating our children,” Chan wrote. “The effects of trauma and chronic stress create an invisible burden for children that makes it very difficult for them to be healthy and live up to their academic potential.”
The Primary School belongs to the trend of “whole-child” education programs, which take into consideration varying outside factors in children's lives and the consequences they have on learning.