Latest news with #EastPaloAlto
CTV News
11-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
IKEA Montreal union calls another surprise strike
An IKEA sign is shown at a location in East Palo Alto, Calif., Monday, July 10, 2023. The Montreal IKEA workers called a strike. (Jeff Chiu/ The Associated Press)
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Outraged parents make damaging revelation about Mark Zuckerberg's wife after closure of couple's school
Outraged parents of students at a Bay Area school, founded by Mark Zuckerberg 's wife Priscilla Chan, are demanding to know why it will be closing next year. The Primary School, which operates two tuition-free elementary schools a stone's throw away from Meta 's headquarters in Menlo Park, announced in April that the 2025-2026 school year would be its last. The announcement did not offer much in the way of an explanation for why, only telling parents 'more details will come.' Chan, 40, is a pediatrician and much of her day-to-day work involves directing millions of dollars worth of philanthropic contributions through her and her husband's charity, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Chan founded the Primary School through the foundation in 2016, with its mission being to serve low-income families in this very affluent area of California. Parents of the roughly 450 students at the East Palo Alto school, which offers pre-K through sixth grade, are now saying that Chan did not attend the Zoom meeting where they were told it would be shutting down. Reneisha Hunt, who has a three-year-old child at the school, said it was difficult to hear the devastating news 'from the faculty and not [Chan].' 'She was not on the Zoom. She wasn't attending it,' Hunt told KRON 4, adding that her child had been on the waiting list for the Primary School 'since he was in my stomach.' It appears Chan's last publicly known visit to the school was in November 2023, when she was photographed reading a picture book to a Kindergarten class. Kyleigh Whitley, whose son and niece attend the East Palo Alto location, said that the staff members she spoke to seemed confused. 'Since I've heard the news, I've spoken with a couple of different staff members and it was a shock to them,' she said. 'Everyone is really disappointed about it.' Some parents have questioned why there can't be a fundraising effort to save the school, especially because the closure announcement said the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative 'will make a $50M investment over the next few years in the East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and East Bay communities.' approached the Primary School's board and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for comment. The Primary School's Board Chair, Jean-Claude Brizard, also did not immediately return a request for comment. Over the next year, the school's board of directors has pledged that some of that $50 million will go toward setting up 529 education savings accounts for the students. These kinds of accounts, typically used for college, can also be used to pay for tuition at public or private K-12 schools, a change brought about by President Donald Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's investment will also fund 'transition specialists' that will help parents move their kids to new schools in the area. Zuckerberg announced the school's founding in 2015, saying in a Facebook post that he was 'so proud of Priscilla.' 'It's inspiring to see Priscilla grow as an entrepreneur and leader. I'm looking forward to watching with pride as she develops The Primary School into a great resource for our community,' he added. 'The goal is to support families and help children from underserved communities reach their full potential.' The Primary School's impending closure comes as Zuckerberg appears to be on a mission to mend his public image as someone who comes across 'robotic,' something he admitted applies to him in a 2019 interview with NBC News' Lester Holt. The Meta CEO has long been sharing his love for Brazilian jiu-jitsu by posting pictures of himself sparring with people. More recently, he shared what supplements he takes every morning. Amid the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, he lamented the fact that the average American has fewer than three friends while attending a conference this week hosted by tech company Stripe. His solution is to get socially disconnected people to make friends with AI companions. 'I think people are going to want a system that knows them well and that kind of understands them in the way that their feed algorithms do,' Zuckerberg said Tuesday. ''For people who don't have a person who's a therapist, I think everyone will have an AI.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Primary School parents demand answers over planned closure
(KRON) — Parents of 450 students attending the Primary School in East Palo Alto are demanding answers on why their school is closing next year. 2 coaches suspended after racist remarks fly at East Bay high school baseball game The Primary School board announced the closure in April. Parents say the announcement came as a surprise and without any explanation. They are asking for more transparency from the Primary School board. Reneisha Hunt's three-year-old is among the hundreds of students at the Primary School. She says that she and other parents learned about the school's closure on Zoom. 'I called my mom after and was like, 'What do I do? Because he's been on the waiting list since he was in my stomach,' says Hunt. 'I think I cut off the Zoom link after that. I was like, 'I'm over it at this point.'' The school was founded in 2016 by Meta founder, Mark Zuckerberg's wife, Priscilla Chan, and funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Parents say they're upset Chan hasn't directly reached out to them. 'It was kind of hard for them to hear it from the faculty and not her,' says Hunt. 'She was not on the Zoom. She wasn't attending it.' Kyleigh Whitley's son and niece attend the school. She says even the staff seemed confused. 'Since I've heard the news, I've spoken with a couple of different staff members and it was a shock to them,' says Whitley. 'It was a surprise. Everyone is really disappointed about it.' Carson Cook is the senior manager of strategy and advancement at the Primary School. He says he is also upset but is focused on finishing the last school year strong. 'It's a moment of grief,' says Cook. 'Every time you walk through these doors, there's so much energy, there is so much life. It's a school, right? It's a really joyous place to be.' Hunt says she and other parents feel hopeless in trying to save their school and have no other choice than to move on. 'You guys keep saying 'it's closing, there's nothing to do,' 'there's no way to fundraise to keep it open,' 'there's no alternatives to keep it open and stay afloat'— so it is what it is, let it go,' says Hunt. The Primary School board has a 529 education savings plan for all students that will support future learning — meaning they will be working with parents over the course of the year to set up the accounts so their children can use the money for education. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
