Since culturally relevant teaching was first introduced by Ladson-Billings in 1994, American schools have become even more racially and ethnically diverse, and post-COVID revealed a wider performance gap between Black and Hispanic students compared to White students. What is less clear is how culturally responsive school leaders are standing up for their culturally and linguistically diverse students. This qualitative study examined how culturally responsive school leaders leveraged their leadership to guide teachers to use a culturally responsive approach in teaching culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students to meet their post-COVID learning needs. This study used as guidance the Culturally Responsive School Leadership theoretical framework developed by Khalifa et al. in conjunction with Lindsey's Cultural Competence Self-Assessment. Ten public school principals from both the East and West Coasts of the United States with three or more years of current leadership experience and who self-assessed at the moderate to advanced levels on the Cultural Competence Self-Assessment survey were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. Participating principals shared their lived experiences, including their beliefs, actions, and perspectives on their ability to guide teachers to develop culturally responsive practices to meet the needs of CLD students post-COVID and on their ability to develop inclusive and engaging school environments. A five-phase coding process revealed the emergence of seven themes from the interview data. (1) A shared awareness that the COVID impact sparked immediate actions needed to make changes in the lives and education experiences of CLD students. (2) A shared critical priority in intentional leadership practices and behaviors relating to continuous professional growth and development on cultural responsiveness, critical self-reflection, resource allocation, building relationships, data-informed decision-making, and collaborative decision-making. (3) A shared deep passion for making a positive impact on the educational experiences of their students by integrating cultural awareness into the school environment. (4) A shared desire to promote inclusion for all students by creating a student-focused environment throughout the school where students feel respected, supported, safe, welcomed, and valued. (5) A shared critical reflection about their effectiveness as a culturally responsive school leader and their intentionality about addressing the systemic or institutional barriers and limitations that have historically marginalized diverse student populations. (6) A shared value of communities by acknowledging, engaging, and embracing community members through a myriad of intentional practices. And (7) a shared recognition of the pervasive challenges they encounter in their role as school leaders. The findings of this phenomenological, qualitative study demonstrated that even in disruptive times, when culturally competent school leaders align their values with their words and actions and implement culturally responsive practices and policies with intention and a sense of urgency, then their underserved and CLD students stand a chance. Implications and limitations are also discussed. [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.]