The problem addressed in this study was kindergarteners in public, rural schools struggle with phonemic awareness, causing their reading development to be delayed. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to explore through the stories of kindergarten teachers whether students from a public, rural setting struggled with a lack of phonemic awareness, causing a delay in their reading skill development. The conceptual framework for the study focuses on students discovering complex problems and transforming data into constructive information. Narrative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six kindergarten teachers from a rural, public school in South Carolina, to explore their experiences and stories with phonemic awareness.. Data were transcribed and entered into NVivo Pro, codes and themes were identified. A thematic analysis with a clearly outlined set of procedures, allowed for deeper understanding and appreciation of the participant's lived experiences. Data analysis from this thematic method helped identify themes and patterns of meaning from the data in relation to the research questions. Results from thematic analysis yielded nine emergent themes. These themes could help teachers provide instruction in phonological awareness curriculum to at-risk students and students struggling with reading difficulties. Future research could include increasing population size, utilizing an alternative method and design. A longitudinal study exploring the impact of phonemic awareness on students could also be conducted. [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.]