Robert Carr, the report’s lead author and research scientist at Duke University’s Center for Child and Family Policy, said the findings reflect the reality that remote learning misses “the most essential aspect of an early childhood education:” warm, everyday, in-person interactions between children and teachers. About a third of 4-year-olds enrolled in the state’s public preschool program received daily remote learning services from their lead teachers during the spring’s closures. The state’s remote learning guidance for NC Pre-K teachers requires real-time contact with children and a parent or caregiver twice a week.