Federal and state legislation focused on closing the achievement gap, have placed emphasis on providing students with teachers who display specific characteristics. While this has been the mandate, many schools still fail to close the achievement gap and research linking specific teacher characteristics with student achievement, validates the importance of the teacher. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between specific teacher characteristics and student achievement in low performing schools. The study examined teacher characteristics and student achievement in specific low performing schools for all groups of students in grades three through five in tested core subjects on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT), and Florida Standards Assessment (FSA). Data retrieved from the Florida Department of Education for the 2014-2015 school year in reading and mathematics for the percent of students in grades three through five and science achievement levels for the percent of students in grades five, was analyzed along with teacher data collected from the school district for the same time period. Teacher data included years of experience, sick hours taken in the given year, turnover rate, teaching in their field of expertise as well as highly qualified status were examined. To answer the research questions of the study, Pearson's r Correlation was conducted and analyzed. A strong positive relationship existed between teachers retained at the school site and total percent of students proficient in science. As well, a strong positive relationship existed between teachers' years of experience and Hispanic students' achievement in reading. [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.]