Reimagining early childhood education with an urban preschool network: a U.S. partnership to drive greater equity

In March 2020, AppleTree Institute sent 1,100 children and 100 teachers home from its nine Washington, D.C. preschools, following Mayor Muriel Bowser’s call to slow the virus’ spread. More than 80% of AppleTree’s families are economically disadvantaged, and the school took immediate action to continue delivering high-quality education: it created educational materials for homes; launched a website with curriculum-aligned content; and hosted online synchronous classes with mission-driven urgency. By the second week of distance learning, only 50% of preschoolers were attending online classes. Families lacked computers or tablets to access online instruction, and, often, reliable Internet connections. Many parents were deemed “essential workers,” which made them unavailable to consistently support home learning. Parents who were available often reported feeling overwhelmed. Economically disadvantaged families are experiencing greater levels of income, food, and housing insecurity, and concomitant increased levels of trauma and stress. AppleTree’s experience was not unique: Similar problems challenged preschools across the United States. Many schools saw declining attendance and increased stress on caregivers, teachers, and children. The Wall Street Journal reported that preschool/daycare enrollment “slumped in the spring and never fully recovered.” By October 2020, about 40% of U.S. day care centers had closed and those remaining served half the number of children (Rexrode, 2020). Also in Spring 2020, Noggin, the interactive early learning service developed by its parent company Nickelodeon, made its preschool learning app free for families in need through Noggin Cares. Noggin, whose design is informed by decades of research on the potential benefits of science-based educational media (Guernsey and Levine, 2015) engaged more than 30 nonprofit organizations serving hundreds of thousands of lowincome families. The subsequent six months of free distribution was judged as useful by Noggin and its partners, but did not spur the transformative use of its media assets that was needed for the longer term.