Empathy is a cognitive and affective skill that has significant impact on both the inner world and professional capacities of leaders in many sectors. The purpose of this action research study was to examine how a small group of teachers in a school-based professional learning community could work collaboratively with colleagues and students to build student empathy. Data collection in Cycle 1 consisted of interviewing faculty members and students to document current practices in empathy development in the high school English classroom. Actions steps were designed, implemented, and evaluated in Cycle 2 to use a Professional Learning Community (PLC) process to proactively design and reflect on interventions to amplify empathy development in 9th grade Humanities classes. Findings included the potential efficacy of using PLCs to support student social-emotional learning, the importance of faculty ownership of the PLC process, and the significant impact of the instructional leader in creating space and offering tools and resources for PLC success. Implications for the organization included establishing a set of best practices for scaling the use of the PLC process for other instructional and strategic priorities, a recommendation for further investment in social-emotional learning for students, and reflections on the types of trust-building necessary for instructional leaders to create meaningful PLCs in school. [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.]