On Mark Zuckerberg’s $120 million grant to San Francisco

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are donating $120 million (over five years) to public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. The couple’s gift will be spread over the next five years and is the biggest allocation to date of the $1.1 billion in Facebook stock the couple pledged last year to the nonprofit Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The first $5 million of the $120 million will go to school districts in San Francisco, Ravenswood and Redwood City.

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Initial grants will go toward:

  • providing computers and connectivity in schools
  • teacher training
  • parent outreach to support them keep track of student learning
  • leadership opportunities for students
  • transitions for students moving from middle school to high school
  • leadership training for principals.

The May 2014 gift comes at a time when critics are still questioning what became of Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to Newark, New Jersey’s public school system. Four years ago, he announced the donation flanked by then-mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. A recent New Yorker article criticises the donation and the chain of events it set in motion. While well-intentioned, the money has so far failed to fix the city’s ailing school system. The process lacked meaningful community input and much of the money has been spent on high-paid contractors and consultants. Four years later, the money is nearly gone and a lot of people are angry. The story’s most poignant quote is from Vivian Cox Fraser, president of the Urban League of Essex County, who says “Everybody’s getting paid, but Raheem still can’t read.” Zuckerberg admits that he and local leaders could have done a better job engaging the community and soliciting ideas about how to spend the money.

The money will be routed through the Startup:Education fund with the aim of providing computers and internet connectivity to needy schools, offering teacher training, and helping to fund new district and charter schools among other initiatives.

Extract from: Zuckerberg, Wife Gift $120M To CA Schools, The Big Story, May, 2014)