School ratings are important factors for school accountability, accreditation, state and federal funding and impacts the community view on a school. This qualitative case study was designed to address Professional Learning Community (PLC) for a Title I school in need of improvement. The problem was the lack of teacher retention, and ability to build relationships on a teacher team to provide effective instruction and interventions for students in a Title I school. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how the PLC can contribute to student academic growth in school, understand the impact on teacher relationships on the team, and implications on teachers providing effective instruction to students in the classroom. The conceptual framework for this study was knowledge management and organizational development. The three research questions were: to what extent does the PLC process affect student achievement, how does participation in a PLC build relationships amongst teachers on a grade-level team, and how does the PLC process impact teachers providing effective instruction? Purposeful sampling resulted in 11 third-fifth grade teachers participating in the study from one elementary campus. The data collection consisted of a focus group, surveys, semi-structured interviews, and PLC data documents. Inductive analysis was use to analyze the data from the four sources. A qualitative approach was used to answer the three research questions. The key findings of the study were that PLCs have a positive impact on student achievement, teachers developed trust on their teams leading to sharing of knowledge and collaboration, and instruction improved after assessments to provide effective instruction during the lesson and interventions. The remaining findings revealed that administrators need to participate in the PLCs, and professional development needs to be provided on how to facilitate PLCs. [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://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]