The Impact of Covid-19 on Educational Leadership and Student Academic Success in Puerto Rico

Educational leaders play a crucial role in ensuring that all students succeed academically and emotionally.  However, educational leaders have been facing extreme educational challenges since the pandemic.  In Puerto Rico, the situation was exacerbated because the archipelago had been devastated by two hurricanes and several earthquakes before the COVID-19 pandemic. Many schools were destroyed and damaged by the natural disasters. Educational leaders in Puerto Rico had to become the beacon of light for their school communities.  This article aims to present some research-based leadership styles and behaviors that education leaders used to transform their post-pandemic school communities.  In Puerto Rico, the pandemic exacerbated the academic gap after the natural disasters, which posed a great challenge for educational leaders.  The goal of this article is to help educational leaders strengthen their leadership style to help them face the challenges of the 21st century. The ultimate objective is to empower the entire school community to address the academic and socio-emotional gap for all students through effective leadership practices.