The purpose of this action research study was to understand and develop school-wide critical literacy practices with middle school teachers. During Cycle 1, students, teachers, and administrators from one school within an urbanized district spoke with the researcher in either interviews or focus groups. Results indicated that in order to implement a culturally-sustaining practice like critical literacy, teachers would need to better understand individual student identities. The results also revealed three ways to achieve this: ensuring meaningful representation within the curriculum, addressing a current lack of student engagement, and removing barriers that reduce adults' focus on instruction. The Cycle 2 action steps involved implementing and facilitating structured collaboration for middle school English teachers focused on critical literacy as part of existing professional learning communities. Additionally, the researcher involved instructional literacy coaches in the process to help prioritize this particular focus on instruction. Findings included literacy coaches' integral role in implementation, protocols' effectiveness as a means to examine concrete examples of critical literacy, and that having a sustained focus allowed for surfacing and addressing misconceptions in a way that moved thinking forward. Lastly, the study found that this kind of collaboration continued to impact participating teachers' instruction after the collaboration had concluded. Implications for the organization include committing to a long-term focus on critical literacy, emphasizing and increasing the use of protocols during professional learning communities, and creating more opportunities for cross-district collaboration. Lastly, as the organization learns and evolves from these recommendations, it is suggested they begin to implement critical literacy practices in other disciplines. [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.]