Early Learning Program Reflections and Learning in a COVID-19 Pandemic Year

Program Operations 

Maintaining program operations was critical to support ongoing services to children and families.  The PSESD operations team focused on staff’s essential access to technology to ensure continuity of services. The ability to pivot quickly from in-person meetings and interactions to all virtual or electronic communication meant unbroken connections between PSESD support staff and Site Staff.  These strong connections promoted the continued relationships between site staff and enrolled Head Start children and their families.  Changing the ways in which services were offered during quarantine meant that many practices and procedures completed in-person prior to the pandemic needed to be reconstructed to fit virtual platforms.

It became quickly evident that early learning needed to anticipate technology needs and increase our  awareness of how other professions were utilizing technology.  PSESD put measures in place for staff to obtain resources more easily by increasing access to needed information.  A great example is the new use of Adobe Sign to securely obtain electronic signatures, which streamlined processes such as contracts, contract amendments and reimbursement for Policy Council members.  This addition also improved tracking and record keeping. 

Time was also dedicated to making improvements to the existing online courses and training provided to staff to learn Head Start performance standards and PSESD Early Learning procedures. The online courses ensured that all staff hired during the pandemic received onboarding information so that they were well informed on Head Start expectations.  Each staff member also completes a short quiz at the end of each training session to assess their knowledge.

Protecting a family's identifiable information continued to be a focus as virtual communications were utilized during the pandemic.  Policies and procedures for social media usage was examined and updated to reflect changes and increased usage of electronic connections. 

Monitoring was completed virtually through photographs and videos.  Site staff shared positive feedback regarding virtual monitoring as it was less intrusive and required a deeper level of understanding of monitoring requirements by site staff.  Monitors trained site staff on monitoring expectations and provided technical assistance more easily with the use of technology.

Health and Safety

The focus on health and safety of children, families, and staff intensified as COVID related information emerged impacting the traditional ways in which Head Start programs were offered.  All traditional practices and procedures had to be reviewed and considered.  The PSESD Health, Nutrition and Safety team organized to gather the barrage of COVID health and safety related information to guide Head Start site staff in making sound decisions for their programs. 

Head Start Staff had ongoing questions about how to maintain the safety of children, families, and staff with all in-person interactions.  PSESD content area teams created a COVID-19 Operations Plan template for the subcontracted sites to guide their health, safety, education, and family support decisions.  To accompany the Operations Plan, a COVID-19 guidance document was created as a reference for all COVID related questions.

Site staff referred to the guidance often to find answers to questions regarding decisions about early learning program planning.  The guidance was continually updated reflecting the most current information from the CDC, Washington State Department of Health, Department of Children, Youth and Families, Head Start and local Public Health departments.  By April of 2021, thirteen months after the pandemic began and quarantine restrictions were in place, the guidance document had been revised seventeen times.  In addition, all PSESD Coaches, Team Managers and Program Managers remained in constant contact with site staff to answer all COVID safety related questions or share resources. 

As sites slowly returned to in person programming during the 2020-21 program year the rate of COVID-19 exposures increased which generated many new questions about the appropriate response to a potential exposure.  The Health and Nutrition Manager organized a PSESD Early Learning COVID-19 response team composed of the Health, Nutrition and Safety Program Managers and PSESD nurses.  A COVID-19 inbox was created to capture all COVID exposure related communications, and the team meets twice weekly to review all questions and communications. 

In addition to offering written and verbal guidance for Head Start Staff providing essential services to children and families, PSESD also accessed the Head Start COVID-19 funding to purchase and distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks for adults and children, gloves, isolation gowns, face shields, and hand sanitizer.  An online survey was created for site leadership to place orders for PPE for the children and staff at their sites.

Learn More About Meeting our Region’s Personal Protective Equipment Needs

Meeting the Individualized Needs of Children and Families

School Readiness consistently remained a focus but offering virtual learning environments for young children was an exceptional challenge.  The 2020-21 year with COVID unraveled the fabric of normalcy in the education world including the program’s infrastructure as well as additional support services for children and families. Furthermore, it unearthed and exposed vulnerabilities and even created self-doubt in abilities while navigating the unfamiliar. 

In response, PSESD Education Content Area staff and the services within that content area, Disabilities and Multilingual Language Services, embraced the virtual world and utilized the full capacity by providing integrated supports and trainings to lead and assist teachers.  Taking notice and remembering pre-COVID difficulties and barriers created a steadfast path to take advantage of opportunities to where doors were once hard to open.  Greater space and time for new collaborations fostered interconnectedness among service areas.  In the Self-Assessment review with Self-Assessment team members, one PSESD staff member stated, “Virtual observations have provided an amazing opportunity for multiple content areas (Mental Health, Education, Disabilities) to all observe the same classroom at the same time and see different yet overlapping things, without overwhelming the physical space! Unique to this virtual time,” Dani Hoffman, Disabilities Consultant.

Increased Use of Technology  

With the need to rely more on technology for learning, communicating with staff, and managing programs, access to technology and devices for site staff and families became clear during the pandemic. PSESD responded by using COVID-19 funding to purchase technology, making certain that families and staff remained connected.

Staff training needs to maximize the use of technology were also addressed.  Training provided during COVID shifted from traditional content to focus on current needs.  As virtual platforms for training were used, staff found that trainings could be recorded and viewed later allowing staff to have ongoing access to the training.  Virtual meetings broadened  participation and provided new opportunities for staff to voice needs and concerns.

Final Key Learning

PSESD Early Learning Education Services were successful during COVID because they embraced the unknown and dove in together.  Looking back on the 2020-21 program year and reflecting on accomplishments the qualities of adaptability, creativity, flexibility, and thinking outside the box has always been there, it was finally exposed!