Developing Strategies for Weathering the Storms of a Global Pandemic at Preschool and Sentiments Analysis of Behavior Toward Public Health Measures

All levels of education, from preschool to higher institutions, have faced enormous challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world unprepared. This study presents the outcome of action research that includes consulting practicum and a survey of parents, teachers, and support staff at a preschool for low-income families known as "Head Start" in the USA. The survey focused on developing and evaluating strategies to contain the pandemic-induced challenges at early childhood learning organizations, public health measures, and employees' and parents' sentiments on social distancing, wearing a mask, and COVID-19 vaccination. The results highlight employees' morals, and the actions of parents, teachers, support staff, and the management to ensure that children continue to learn amidst the increased burden, concerns, and uncertainty faced while navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic. Most parents (96%) felt safe about children attending in-person classes but seriously objected to kids wearing masks in school. Over 53% of teachers and 50% of support staff viewed the COVID-19 vaccine positively, citing scientific reasons. Those opposing vaccination presented non-scientific rationale, including beliefs and distrust, while the undecided needed assurances and further information about the side effects. Performance on family advocacy services improved significantly compared to non-pandemic years from using virtual technology platforms, including zoom, teams, and more, thus reducing canceled appointments.