Educational Challenges in the U.S. in times of COVID-19: Experiences from Parents of PreK-12 Students

The Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) originated in 2019. It forced school systems to innovate digital portals as an online learning option for schools, parents, and legal guardians. As a result, parental responsibility towards student education surmounts traditional standards and poses new dilemmas. Throughout generations, technology ebbed and flowed through human interaction. The brinks of COVID-19 and the intrusive influx of technology in the educational system displayed prevalent opportunities, which revealed existing and potential conflicts that parents and students experience during the 2020-2021 school year. This descriptive study was conducted to gain insight from parents and legal guardians about the untold stories, challenges, and conflicts in navigating through either: in-person (traditional/face-to-face on-campus learning, following health safety guidelines), distance learning (online/e-learning directed by school and/or district, guided by teachers), or homeschooling (online/e-learning directed by a third party and/or guided by the parent).