By Charles Dinofrio
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools and early childhood centers to close, children lost not only the structure of a high-quality learning environment but also vital social-emotional interaction with peers and teachers. Extended isolation made these losses more acute, removing the everyday connections that support young learners’ development.
Still, one positive outcome has been a strengthened partnership between schools and families. Across all 30 locations of Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers (LVCC), we used the disruption as an opportunity to deepen school-to-home connections and help families feel more confident and involved in their children’s learning—even while we worked apart.
Maintaining Routines
Routines offer comfort and predictability for young children, especially during times of uncertainty. From the start of the pandemic, we prioritized carrying familiar classroom rituals into families’ homes. Simple practices like morning meetings and story time were adapted for online delivery, providing continuity for students and creating a shared space where parents could step into their role as learning partners.
By moving these routines onto social media and other digital platforms, we preserved daily rituals that reassure children and foster a sense of community for families navigating remote learning for the first time.
Recognizing Parents and Teachers as Partners
Family engagement has long been central to LVCC’s approach, and the pandemic underscored how essential that partnership is. Teachers are instruction experts, but parents and caregivers are experts on their children. The crisis accelerated collaboration between home and school so families could confidently support learning at home.
Prior to the pandemic, our pre-kindergarten program already used Waterford Reading Academy, a web-based blended learning platform for reading, math, and science. When centers closed, Waterford enabled more than 550 students to continue with a consistent, high-quality curriculum from home. At the same time, teachers and caregivers strengthened their communication and coordination, transforming school-to-home ties into the central framework for students’ academic and emotional support.
Preparing for Post-Quarantine Challenges
As children return to in-person programs, we expect to encounter behavioral and developmental challenges tied to isolation and pandemic-related trauma, including grief for those who lost loved ones. In response, LVCC has invested in virtual professional development for staff and prioritized building trusting relationships with families—relationships that will be crucial as children readjust.
At the pandemic’s onset, we quickly developed new routines, policies, and procedures to protect health and keep families informed. Now, as centers reopen in phases, our focus remains on providing a safe, nurturing environment that families trust. Reopening prioritizes enrolled families who must return to work, followed by children who need structure or social-emotional support, and then families affected by permanent closures of other child care providers.
Families returning to centers should expect several changes guided by public health recommendations: smaller group sizes, designated drop-off and pick-up areas, teachers wearing masks, and restricted nonessential visitors. Daily temperature checks, frequent handwashing, enhanced sanitizing, and a strict policy to send home children showing signs of illness are all part of our new routine. We also recognize that some parents will need more time before they feel comfortable returning, and we continue to support those families remotely.
Support Through the Summer
To boost kindergarten readiness and fill gaps for children without summer preschool, LVCC is offering two summer program options, including an eight-week virtual session through Waterford Early Learning. Even as we prepare to welcome children back into our buildings, we are expanding virtual activities—virtual field trips, guest professionals joining classrooms online—and increasing outdoor learning opportunities to add variety and enrichment.
Smaller class sizes and new safety practices will change the look and rhythm of learning, but our commitment to high-quality early education remains the same. We have developed effective strategies for both at-home and in-center learning and, most importantly, have built strong partnerships with families that will help children continue to grow despite the challenges they have faced.
About the author
Charles Dinofrio is the president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers, a not-for-profit early education and child care organization in Allentown, PA. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media hub focused on the shift to digital curriculum in education.