Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and wife, pediatrician and teacher Priscilla Chan are inspiring a new meaning for the term blended learning in education.

Chan has spearheaded the creation of The Primary School in Palo Alto, Calif, a K-12 school which will combine learning with free health care services- providing children with health care from birth to graduation, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

"Health and education are closely connected. When children aren't healthy, they can't learn as easily. Many kids and teachers across the country deal with the consequences of poor health in classrooms every day,” said Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.

"Many children face challenges that put them far behind before they get to school—challenges like poverty, neglect, family instability, and poor environmental conditions. These traumatic childhood events alter the body’s ability to maintain health and promote optimal brain development. Research shows that nearly one in five children is at significant risk for poor health and educational outcomes due to these adverse childhood experiences,” says The Primary School’s site.

The Primary School’s mission is to focus on the whole child, ensuring that all factors of a child's life and development are taken into account when educating them. This is particularly important in low-income areas where children are more likely to be at risk for poor mental and physical health.

In addition to providing health care services for students, TPS is also determined to provide support services to parents to improve the quality of the child's time at home, as well, beginning with the offering of prenatal care.

Remarkably, TPS is completely tuition-free. It is slated to begin its first school year in August 2016, beginning with full-time school for four-year-olds and activities for parents with infants and two-year-olds.

According to TPS’ site, families that are interested in sending their children to TPS should remain in touch as they will be revealing more information regarding admissions and enrollment in the near future.

Read more about TPS here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

10/26/2015