Chapter 5: The Pursuit of Educational Equity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Early Lessons on Instruction, Opportunity, and Effectively Serving Young Learners

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, educational organizations proved, once again, to be irreplaceable institutions of public good and service. Educational leaders made decisions locally that impacted the well-being of their students, staff, and community while state and federal leaders, at times, hesitated (MacGillis, 2020). Students from prekindergarten to postgraduate programs were affected by the pandemic; approximately 90% of preschool programs faced closures, and all 50 states experienced public school closures. These closures impacted over 55 million students nationwide regardless of ethnicity, parental education, or income (Barnett et al., 2020; Education Week, 2020). Decreased instructional time and the absence of face to face, personal classroom experiences for both students and teachers was prevalent and palpable.