How have Denver’s preschool programs and workforce fared during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Brief

How have Denver’s Preschool Programs and Workforce Fared during the COVID-19 Pandemic?1 As part of the Denver Preschool Program (DPP) operations evaluation, the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver conducted a workforce study involving surveys (n = 356) and interviews (n = 15) in spring 2021 with preschool professionals. Findings offer important insights into how preschool educators were doing approximately 1 year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finding #1: DPP’s financial support helped preschools stay in business.

From March 1 through May 31, 2020, DPP paid full tuition “Especially during COVID, when credits for all approved DPP students based on enrollment [DPP] actually paid the kids’ [tuition] rather than attendance. The attendance policy waiver meant when they came -- or if [they] didn't families could keep children home and/or preschools could come -- that's what counts a lot. close as needed for health and safety reasons without Personally, if I didn't get that income, negatively impacting preschool business operations. One I probably would have went out of year later, many preschool administrators who took the business, if I didn't have kids survey (82%) acknowledged that DPP indeed helped coming.” –DPP Director them to stay in business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finding #2: Educators’ relationships with families have suffered the most during the pandemic.

Professionals were asked to report the extent to which their relationships with children, families, and coworkers changed since the onset of the pandemic (Figure 1). Nearly 3 out of 5 respondents (58%) perceived less closeness in their relationships with families.

Figure 1. Percentage of educators reporting less closeness in their relationships since the onset of COVID-19 80%

58%

60% 40%

46% 28%

20% 0% Children

Families

Co-workers/ Supervisors

Educator interviews suggest this outcome is likely a consequence of less face-to-face interactions with families. For example, one teacher shared, “it's definitely harder with the family since they're not allowed in the building at all. We've always had a pretty open classroom, parents could come in in the morning and kind of do all that sort of stuff and now they have to stay outside of the classroom. I definitely haven't built relationships with families like I have in previous years.” Some teachers have connected with

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Recommended citation: Roberts, A., Mendoza, M., Wacker, A., & Delap, S. (2022). How have Denver’s Preschool Programs and Workforce Fared during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Butler Institute for Families, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver

parents and guardians through online platforms. However, as one teacher noted, “there’s no substitute for being able to talk to a parent face-to-face.”

Recommendation: Given the importance of family engagement, it is critical to support relationship building with families. Educators need resources to help them communicate with families. Coaches, professional development providers, and learning communities can offer strategies for interacting with families in light of changing conditions and restrictions. Educators will likely need to individualize communication strategies to accommodate families’ availability, comfort with and access to technology, comfort with in-person interactions, primary language, and additional considerations. It is important that teachers also have dedicated time in their workdays to engage with families.

Finding # 3: The preschool workforce has experienced mental health challenges.

Educators who took the survey were asked to think about their mental health in the previous month (e.g., experiencing stress, depression, and problems with emotions) and report how many days their mental health was at risk. One in four professionals reported frequent mentally unhealthy days.2 In addition, 32% experienced clinically significant depressive symptoms.

Recommendation: The workforce would likely benefit from access to resources, professional development opportunities, and time off to promote wellness. As shown in Figure 2, workforce survey respondents were most interested in access to resources for reducing stress or anxiety, such as mediation, yoga, or exercise.

Figure 2. Resources suggested by educators to promote workplace well-being 80% 60% 40%

49% 23%

20%

19%

19%

0% Access to resources Employee Assistance Access to early for reducing stress or Program (EAP) childhood mental anxiety (e.g., health consultations meditation, yoga, exercise)

Information or referrals to mental health services

Conclusion In summary, there have been successes in supporting preschools during the COVID-19 pandemic, including policy changes to help stabilize preschool programs. There are also opportunities for ongoing support to help the preschool workforce cope with heightened stress, and to help families and educators connect in meaningful ways to support children’s development.

2

Defined as 14 or more days per month.