The problem was the decline in executive functioning skills of Grade 5 students in a consolidated independent school district in suburban Austin, Texas since the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this qualitative critical instance case study was to better understand the perceptions of teachers regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the executive function of Grade 5 students in a consolidated independent school district in suburban Austin, Texas across elementary campuses of differing socioeconomic statuses by creating an account of teacher perceptions and experiences related to the pandemic. Kolb's theory of experiential learning was used to frame this qualitative critical instance case study and address the three (3) research questions. The research setting was a suburban consolidated independent school district outside of Austin, Texas. Participants consisted of teachers within the district who had taught Grade 5 for the last five (5) years at campuses of low-, middle-, and high-socioeconomic statuses. The final sample size consisted of nine (9) teachers, five (5) of whom engaged with both of the study's research instruments: a questionnaire designed using Qualtrics and in-depth interviews. NVivo was used to code and analyze the data from the in-depth interviews and questionnaire data was organized using Microsoft Excel and coded manually. Findings suggested a relationship between the pandemic and Grade 5 students' executive function skills and between executive function and behavioral and academic outcomes at low-, middle-, and high-socioeconomic status campuses. Participants believed that post-pandemic society has shifted in some way and referenced the need to analyze elements of effective instruction alongside strategies for enhancing students' executive function. Research recommendations include an in-depth analysis of the interaction between student motivation and executive function during and following the COVID-19 pandemic to develop future routines and instructional practices that inspire student engagement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]