On a bright August morning in Los Angeles, 5-year-old Eli Frankel clutched his backpack and nervously walked into California Creative Academy for his first day of kindergarten. For Eli’s mother, Mollie Sussman, the moment was filled with anticipation and anxiety. "We were super freaked out," Sussman told NPR, recalling the jitters she and her husband, Brad Frankel, felt as their only child prepared to embark on this milestone. Their worries ranged from Eli feeling overwhelmed by the transition to a new school with older children, to concerns about how he’d handle a full day without naps. But as the family participated in a classroom activity tracing outlines of each other’s hands, their fears began to subside. "He was ready when we left. He did really well and he was super brave," Sussman said, adding with a laugh that her husband was the only one who shed a tear that day.
Eli’s story is just one among millions. This fall, more than 3.6 million children born in 2020—dubbed 'COVID kindergartners'—are starting elementary school across the United States, according to NPR. Their early years were shaped by a world of masked adults, hand sanitizer, and, for many, long stretches of social isolation. Now, as these children enter classrooms, parents, educators, and researchers are closely watching to see how the pandemic’s disruptions will affect their readiness for school and long-term development.
Research underscores that early childhood experiences can leave lasting marks on development. A 2023 study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that nurturing environments boost cognitive abilities and academic achievement, while early disadvantages can lead to persistent difficulties with stress management and self-esteem. The pandemic, with its unique set of hardships, has prompted experts to monitor this generation with heightened vigilance.
Dr. Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician and neuroscientist at Columbia University, has been at the forefront of research on pandemic newborns. "Just being in utero during a highly stressful time had some developmental effects on infants," Dumitriu told NPR. While the effects were not large, she described them as "a very worrisome sign given that so many women gave birth during that period." Her 2022 research found that infants born in the early months of the pandemic scored slightly lower on gross motor, fine motor, and personal social skills at six months compared to those born before COVID-19. "We're talking about things like baby being able to sit up, baby being able to reach for things, maybe engaging in a face-to-face interaction, very basic things," Dumitriu explained. Yet, as her team continued to track these children, they discovered something hopeful: "The good news is that it looks like that trend really is restricted to the early pandemic phase of 2020 and did not continue past that year." She emphasized the remarkable plasticity of young children’s brains, noting, "What happens at 6 months is not predictive of what happens at 24 months and it's not predictive of what happens at 5 years."
Eli Frankel’s development echoed these findings. After enrolling in day care at 11 months and progressing through nursery school and pre-K, Eli seemed to hit most milestones. But at age two, Sussman noticed his speech lagged behind what her parenting apps suggested was typical. Concerned, she enrolled him in speech therapy, where she learned this was a widespread issue. "The speech therapist said that they had seen an increase in the number of kids coming to speech therapy. Likely because of the lack of exposure to mouths and facial expressions, because it's a big part of how you learn to talk." By age three, Eli had caught up and was thriving verbally.
Data supports Sussman’s experience. A 2023 study from Epic Research found that children who turned two between October and December 2021 were 32% more likely to be diagnosed with a speech delay than those turning two in 2018. For children turning two between January and March 2023, the likelihood soared to nearly 88%. Overall, speech delay diagnoses increased from 9% in 2018 to nearly 17% in early 2023.
The pandemic’s impact went beyond speech. Lockdowns and social distancing led to increased screen time for young children, which research in Nature has linked to behavioral issues, poor vocabulary, and developmental delays, especially among children with special needs. Michelle Yang, a resident physician at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, cautioned that two to three hours of daily screen time for children ages two to five can be especially problematic.
Perhaps most concerning is the rise in chronic absenteeism and lower school readiness among young children. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the chronic absenteeism rate averaged 28% during the 2022-2023 school year. In California, school districts are fighting absenteeism among kindergartners by helping parents determine when a child is too sick to attend school. As reported by NPR, kindergartners are now the group missing the most school days, a trend that has alarmed educators and policymakers alike.
Academic readiness has also suffered. The 2025 State of Student Learning report from Curriculum Associates found that the share of kindergartners arriving ready for reading dropped from 89% in 2019 to 81% in 2025. Math readiness saw an even steeper decline, from 84% to 70%. Kristen Huff, head of measurement at Curriculum Associates, told NPR, "Since school returned after the pandemic, even students who were not in school because they were too young to be in kindergarten during the [lockdowns] are coming into kindergarten behind or less prepared rather than their pre-pandemic peers."
The report also revealed persistent disparities. Majority Black and Hispanic schools, as well as students from families earning below $50,000 per year, continue to post lower test scores than their white and higher-income counterparts, even as all groups make incremental gains. Huff observed, "The good news is that students are making strides. But while they're growing at comparable rates to pre-pandemic, the improvement is not enough to make up for the academic ground that has been lost." She stressed the importance of accelerating learning: "That is why we need to focus on that acceleration in the rate at which they're learning."
Despite these challenges, experts remain optimistic. Both Dumitriu and Huff highlighted the brain’s malleability and the proven effectiveness of targeted educational resources. "We know what works," Huff said. "We know what is needed in classrooms, in schools and for students and to support teachers. And when those things are in place, these schools—even when they're in low-income communities—can buck the trend."
As the new school year unfolds, the nation’s youngest students and their families are navigating uncharted territory. The story of Eli Frankel and his peers offers a window into both the struggles and resilience of a generation shaped by an unprecedented global event. With attentive parents, dedicated educators, and the right support, there’s reason to believe these 'COVID kindergartners' will not only catch up but thrive.