Recent data have shown that up to 65% of students in Grades 4 and 8 are reading below grade level. The problem addressed in this study was that students with a high dialect density have a more difficult time with mastery of foundational skills in reading, leading to unfortunate reading mastery outcomes as they progress through school. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to gather perceptions of rural Northeastern North Carolina educators on how to overcome barriers to meet the needs of students with high dialect density. The intersection of two theories will be used as the framework for this study. The first theory is Bandura et al.'s (1961) social cognitive theory, which focuses on understanding how the environment shapes people and how people continuously shape their environment. The second theory is Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory, which states the cultural and societal influence a child is born into will shape that child's cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978). A qualitative case study design was chosen. Qualitative case studies involve gathering and studying non-numerical information such as audio, text, or video files to grasp and understand theories, beliefs, or practices. It can be used to collect in-extensive awareness of a problem or create new proposals for investigation. Study participants included 19 K-2 teachers, speech/language pathologists, exceptional education teachers, and administrators providing direct support to students in learning how to read. Three research questions were identified for this study. Research Question 1 addressed educational stakeholders' experiences working with students with high-density dialects. Research Question 2 addressed how educational stakeholders perceive high dialect density to play a role in how students learn to read. Research Question 3 addressed strategies that can be used to overcome barriers to mastery of reading based on high dialect density. Data gathering was done via an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to find themes, codes, and categories. Seven themes emerged from data analysis. Themes highlighted the overall need for all stakeholders, parents, teachers, and students to work together to help our children with a high dialect density be proficient readers. Implications of the findings include the need for access to necessary resources for both teachers and families, for school districts to encourage and promote a high level of parent involvement in their child's education, for school districts to strengthen the collaboration between the teachers and the speech and language pathologists and putting more emphasis on the reading instruction within the classroom. The effectiveness of the core curriculum in cooperation with the MTSS tier 2 framework and specific strategies and supports could be the focus of future research. [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.]