The underachievement of culturally and linguistically diverse students has been spotlighted repeatedly over generations. That spotlight notwithstanding, the problem of underachievement has worsened in recent years as the population of diverse racial and ethnic groups has increased in US schools. This study aimed to address the achievement gap related to culturally and linguistically diverse students by exploring the lived experiences of 10 educators who use storytelling-retell strategies as tools to improve literacy skills in primary school classrooms. Guided by a social justice framework of culturally responsive instruction supported by Vygotsky's sociocultural pedagogy and schema theories, this basic qualitative study focused on teachers' experience using culturally relevant strategies to improve student performance, especially in reading and language. Semi-structured interviews revealed that participants believed that creating a comfortable classroom environment, where the students could develop a sense of belonging and express themselves through their own cultural frames of reference, could improve their academic performance. Based on these findings, sharing stories as a component of culturally responsive instruction offered an opportunity for positive social change. The overall view of the participants was that their students' cultural experiences and identities were assets to be utilized for instruction and that storytelling-retell was a viable way to develop literacy skills. [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.]