In March 2020, 90% of schools shut down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Many schools responded by quickly moving classes online into a period of what has been called emergency remote learning (ERL). The problem addressed in this research study is the lack of engagement among middle-school students due to the home environment during emergency remote learning (An et al., 2021; Francom & Pinckney, 2021; Leech et al., 2022). The purpose of the qualitative phenomenological study was to describe middle-school teachers' lived experiences with student disengagement due to the home environment during synchronous emergency remote learning. Schlecty's Levels of Engagement served as the conceptual framework for this study. A heterogeneous sample was chosen, resulting in ten participants. Each participant engaged in two 45-minute interviews which provided the raw data for the study. The data were then analyzed using Collaizi's six steps for phenomenological analysis. The results of the data analysis were used to answer the four research questions. Middle-school teachers experienced student disengagement due to the home environment in four ways: (1) physical factors such as homeschool environments being insufficient and students attending synchronous class in bed, (2) technical factors such as problems with technology, internet issues, and technology being a distraction, (3) family dynamics factors such as parents contributing to disengagement and noisy or chaotic households, and (4) emotional factors such as a lack of relationships and students having big negative emotions. It is recommended that administrators allow for flexibility in ERL due to challenges in the home environment. It is recommended that teachers clearly communicate with parents during ERL and that parents receive training in best practices for ERL. Finally, it is recommended that administrators provide time and space for social interaction during extended periods of ERL. [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.]