Linda Sullivan has worked in child care for decades but when St. Anne’s Child & Family Center opened in 2004, Sullivan truly found her home.

As a preschool teacher, Sullvian provides a consistent and fun environment for children to learn in while they play.

“I love that age,” Sullivan said. “It’s fun to watch how fast they grow, how fast they’re learning.”

Sullivan was born and raised in Spokane. She began teaching preschool after her own children started kindergarten. More than 25 years later, Sullivan said she still learns something every day.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Anne’s continues to serve children whose parents are needed on the front lines. St. Anne’s, a part of Catholic Charities, serves the staff of the nonprofit along with a significant number of Providence Health Care workers.

“We’re taking care of the kids whose parents really need to be at their jobs,” Sullivan said.

Parents drop their children off at the front doors of St. Anne’s each day and receive updates and pictures online throughout the day.

Inside, Sullivan manages one classroom by herself with the same group of kids each day. It’s nearly impossible for toddlers to social distance, so St. Anne’s decided to reduce the number of adults and other children students come in contact with.

“It’s hard with the social distancing,” Sullivan said. “Children want to play and they’re with children and they can’t stay 6 feet apart all day.”

About eight hours later, Sullivan sends the kids back out the front doors, one by one, to their waiting parents.

Normally, Sullivan has a co-teacher and children are able to play with kids from other classes, all things that have stopped due to COVID-19.

“The kids have been pretty good,” Sullivan said. “They’ve had to make some new friendships because it’s not the same group of kids in the classroom.”

When it comes to teaching her preschoolers about the pandemic, Sullivan has focused on answering questions and assuaging fears.

“They know it’s the coronavirus. They call it by its name,” Sullivan said. “They understand you can’t see the germs but it’s still there.”

Sullivan not only helps her preschoolers grow and learn but her fellow teachers as well.

As a “core” staff member and longtime teacher, Director Deitra Miller relies on Sullivan to help set the example of what an open-minded and passionate teacher looks like.

“She doesn’t give up when things get tough,” Miller said. “She really steps up and finds a way to move past those barriers.”

So when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the center to reduce the number of children they serve from 220 to 65, a staff reduction was necessary. Instead of the approximately 55 staff that normally wrangle 14 classrooms full of children, now 20 employees help little ones wash their hands and maintain their social distance.

“The staff here is very entrenched and very connected to each other,” Sullivan said. “It’s hard to watch them leave and not know what they’re going to do.”

The staffing reduction is just part of a larger problem in early childhood education, Sullivan and Miller said.

“There was a huge workforce issue within early learning prior to COVID,” Miller said. “People definitely don’t choose it for the financial aspect of it.”

There are increased educational requirements for early learning teachers that go beyond a bachelor’s degree, but early learning teachers are often paid the least of their classmates, Miller said.

“Just in general, (for) early learning it’s really, really hard to find qualified people,” Miller said. “I’m kind of scared for everybody to see what that looks like when it’s time to come back.”

While Miller said she hopes to rehire as many of her staff as possible, it’s hard to know when St. Anne’s will be able to return to operating at full capacity.

Sullivan said she’s lucky to work for Catholic Charities.

“They take care of their people,” Sullivan said.