Despite the promise of equal education opportunities for all students in the nation, the achievement/opportunity gap between English language learners (ELLs) and their non-ELLs peers persists. Time, effort, and resources of all kids have been invested in educational reforms to improve these students' outcomes without success (Darling-Hammond, 2007; Lopez & Iribarren, 2014; Polat et al., 2016; Soland & Sandilos, 2020). This outcome is also mirrored at a public middle school in Valley County (pseudonym) in Florida. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews and classroom observations, this single-case, qualitative study sought to explore teachers' understandings of the second language acquisition process, what they perceive as best practices, and what they perceive as the most pressing challenges when working with ELLs. Through a thematic approach, nine themes emerged which revealed that participants have a limited repertoire of ESOL strategies and a limited knowledge base of second language learning. Several misconceptions were evident regarding the way ELLs advance their second language and what educators consider barriers to ELLs' academic attainment. This may be the result of the non-participatory role teachers in this study have in ESOL Professional Developments (PDs). Their view of these trainings as ineffective and unpractical may have decreased their motivation to participate. Therefore, the school and district should provide teachers with coaching and meaningful PDs opportunities to help them develop the set of skills needed to better serve this student population. [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.]