Early childhood distance learning in the U.S. during the COVID pandemic: Challenges and opportunities

•ECE virtual teachers reported low levels of participation of children and families.•ECE virtual teachers reported a lack of knowledge and skills for virtual teaching.•ECE teachers expressed wanting developmentally appropriate ways of engaging children.•Curricula adapted for virtual teaching formats were requested.•Access to technology a continued barrier to participation for low-income families. Considered a “frontline” organization, some early childhood education (ECE) centers remained open during the COVID pandemic, others were temporarily closed, while still others experimented with various virtual learning approaches. The increased use of virtual approaches in ECE raises questions about teachers’ experiences with it and the challenges they are facing in trying to maintain educational continuity for the children under their care. A total of 1,434 ECE teachers from 46 states serving children ages 0 to 5 (including Kindergarten)—529 teachers of whom reported teaching virtually—completed an online survey in the early months of the pandemic on their teaching experiences. Content analysis of open-ended responses revealed several challenges: low levels of participation of children and families, limited social interaction and developmentally appropriate ways of engaging children in the virtual learning format, lack of knowledge and skills for virtual teaching, and limited technological support.