![]() ![]() The school surveys were completed by principals before the interviews via a fillable PDF form. Focus groups were ultimately conducted with 26 essential working parents who had children in kindergarten through third grades, from one of the participating schools. The second inclusion criterion was expanded to include the parents/guardians of children attending kindergarten through third grades. The first inclusion criterion was extended to include parents/guardians whose jobs required them to work outside of the home. 14 The inclusion criteria for parent focus group participants were subsequently expanded due to an unexpected low volume of parents/guardians successfully recruited. Tier 2 essential workers in Georgia are employed in: food, grocery, and convenience stores nonclinical pharmacy work food and grocery processing, production, manufacturing farming restaurant food service, preparation, or delivery. The original inclusion criteria for parents and/or guardians to participate in the focus groups were: (1) having at least one child in kindergarten through second grade attending the enrolled schools, and (2) being employed as a Tier 2 essential worker. Families with younger children were selected as they require more supervision, and are at a time of critical foundational learning. The recruitment target for the parent/guardian focus groups was three groups per school, consisting of about five parents/guardians each. This study focused on students in kindergarten through third grade who attended urban and rural public elementary schools in Georgia. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of remote schooling on the learning of young children in Georgia during the early COVID‐19 pandemic, from the perspectives of school administrators and essential working parents. 13 Risks of not completing high school are higher for students with delayed reading who also live in poverty. 11 Reading proficiency by the end of third grade is a significant predictor of future academic outcomes, 5, 12 including high school graduation and college attendance rates, which in turn may affect health outcomes into adulthood. 10 A prepandemic comparison of virtual to in‐person learning among fifth and eighth grade students in the United States found that virtual learners demonstrated significantly lower standardized test scores in math and English/language arts. In a 2021 systematic review of global learning losses during the COVID‐19 pandemic, all studies of students younger than college age found declines in academic performance. 3 These discrepancies have the potential to further widen existing educational gaps and inequities. Nationwide, this rate was higher for Black (25%) and Latinx (20%) families. 8 In 2020, when many schools utilized virtual learning, 17% of households in Georgia lacked internet and a home computer available for student use. 7 Many working parents, especially those whose jobs are considered essential, struggled with the competing demands of work and supervising children learning from home. ![]() Virtual learning inherently poses challenges for younger students, children with disabilities or learning challenges, and students whose home environment is not conducive to learning. ![]() 6 Lesser resourced schools are more likely to be ill‐equipped to flexibly adapt to alternate instructional models as required by the pandemic. 5 In Fall 2017, 45% of Black and Latinx students attended high‐poverty public schools, while eight percent attended low‐poverty schools. These discrepancies were found to be higher among Black and Latinx students. 4 In 2009, 83% of low‐income fourth‐grade students tested below proficiency levels in reading, compared with 55% of their moderate to high‐income counterparts. ![]() Prepandemic inequities and subsequent educational gaps placed many vulnerable students at risk of falling further behind academically during the COVID‐19 pandemic. While some retained remote learning, others either operated fully in person or utilized a hybrid model of virtual and in‐person modalities. 2 In Fall 2020, school districts implemented a variety of student learning modalities. 1 All public schools in Georgia were mandated to cease in‐person learning as of March 16, 2020, and remote schooling was quickly implemented and ultimately sustained for the remainder of the academic year. In response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, schools in the United States closed to in‐person learning in Spring 2020, affecting over 77 million students nationwide. ![]()
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