Abstract
COVID was a traumatic, difficult, and exhausting time for teachers. Many are still coping with the residual of the unexpected struggles and unresolved experiences from that era. With an emphasis on communication, this qualitative research highlights and explores the stories of California educators from the time of the initial school closures through the return to classroom learning and to the present day. Theoretical support for the value of these stories was drawn from the narrative paradigm. An interpretive paradigm approach was used as methodology. Data collection and analysis involved semi-guided interviews, inductive coding, and the grouping of responses, which led to conclusions regarding teachers’ communication and the impact of the COVID era. The participant group included 22 women and men who were working with K-8 students early in 2020 and throughout the pandemic. All were interviewed in the summer of 2025. Findings revealed that the participants’ lives and work worlds changed abruptly with the onset of education’s shutdown and have not yet fully returned to “normal.” Interviewees described internalizing their emotions and concerns and have only now detailed their experiences because they were asked to do so for this study. Their stories offer compelling truths and powerful evidence for change.