There is a disproportional representation of African American students in special education in the United States. Minimal use of differentiated instruction is a common reason for overrepresentation of minority students in special education. I conducted an action research study with elementary school teachers involving differentiated instruction. One purpose of my project was to facilitate teachers with capacity building and assist 3 participants with overcoming common barriers in differentiated instruction creating second order change. A second purpose was to explore my leadership theories in action: transformational, servant and cultural proficiency. I discovered five missing pieces of relevant knowledge in differentiated instruction literature that did not deal with the historically oppressed kindergarten to 12th grade African American students and minimally discussed how to bridge classroom teaching practices to differentiated instruction educational methods. To address these shortcomings, I created D.O.O.R.S., my five guideline action plan. I discovered D.O.O.R.S. guidelines had a positive impact on teacher implementation of differentiated instruction and that cross cultural dialogue may be necessary to resolve the issue of cultural bias in traditional educational settings. For my leadership style, I explored my living theory, created an original leadership style tri river leadership and found my core leadership style was ethical leadership. [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.]