Lessons the COVID-19 Pandemic Taught Us
LESSON 1: Our biggest lesson learned this year is the importance of remaining flexible as an organization. Doing so allowed us to meet the community’s needs during a crisis. By having a robust benefits plan for our team members, including insurance and HSA, in addition to paid vacation for mental respite and an Employee Assistance Program for free counseling, we were able to keep our team healthy and reduce voluntary turnover during the COVID-19 crisis.
LESSON 2: Importance of connection. Our families are not allowed to enter the building and we, as teachers, have had to alter the ways in which we communicate with families. It has taken more intentionally on the teacher’s part to make sure we reach out and connect with parents in the little amounts that we may have to interact with them. Baby Connect and Daily Connect are essential technology tools that allowed us to update families on the day-to-day classroom happenings and our monthly zoom meetings give families a rare glimpse into the actual classroom.
LESSON 3: Power of relationship building: COVID has kept us further apart, yet closer together. We make sure to check on families that are gone for short lengths of time, send home activities for children, and post lesson plans for parents to have ideas for home. Relationships between students and their peers are important. Friendships begin early, even with infants and toddlers, and students have had to struggle with missing their friends from school who are absent or have left the program for reasons related to COVID (illness, quarantine, parent working from home).
LESSON 4: Another critical component of our COVID-19 crisis response was the flexibility of our funding partners. By allowing our organization to pivot financial support in response to the pandemic, families were immediately assisted during the crisis. The flexibility allowed our organization to remain a strong and durable means of community support during uncertain times, and immediately impact those closest to the issues during the emergency.
LESSON 5: The incredible impact of local giving. When the pandemic hit in the Spring of 2020, fundraising locally raised dollars to immediately assist families that were struggling, allowing them to keep their children enrolled at HWCEC. Through this support, we also:
Implemented an emergency services early education program to support essential workers
Implemented a school-age summer and after school care program
Provided food gift cards, diapers, formula, coats, and other essential items to fill in financial gaps for families.
Please consider supporting your favorite non-profits on 4.8.21 for #NWAGIVES. Any level of support is extremely appreciated. At HWCEC, every dollar given goes directly to supporting families still struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. We are so close to the end of this, and together we can ensure our neighbors have the help they need. Donate here!