Reading achievement gaps for diverse students in high-poverty schools is a persistent problem nationally (Berliner, 2017; Carter & Welner, 2013; Darling-Hammond, 2010; Milner, 2010a; National Center for Education Statistics, 2009) and at the site of study. To better understand this phenomenon at Aspiring Elementary School, using the purposeful-convenient strategy, the target population of 24 general education classroom teachers were selected for participation in a mixed methods study. Teachers completed a survey of 60 questions that was developed by the researcher using the literature. The maximum-variation strategy was used to select a sample of four teachers for a one time, semi-structured, personal interview discussing 13 questions that were also developed by the researcher. The results of the mixed methods case study suggest that all (14) social context and knowledge, motivation, and organization factors proposed by the researcher do influence teacher performance at AES related to the goal of developing proficient readers. Results of the Spearman correlation test on survey data also suggest that a statistically significant relationship at p < 0.05 exists among the factors, sorting them into two broad and distinct groups: (1) relating to the child and home environment, and (2) relating to the teacher, school, and society. Although teachers reportedly espoused strong beliefs about the value of teaching in culturally responsive ways, interviews with teachers revealed that they actually enacted individual practices, not necessarily a set of shared culturally relevant practices, in the face of constraints to be transformative for student learning. An implementation and evaluation plan for teachers proposes actions for closing the gap between espoused beliefs and enacted culturally relevant practices with the goal of improving student reading outcomes. [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.]