This study focused on improving students' self-esteem through community building at an elementary school in a low socioeconomic community where over 55% of the students live below the poverty line. Orefield and Yun state in their 1999 article, "Resegregation of America's schools," "school level poverty is related to many variables that affect a school's overall chance at successfully educating students" (p. 3), and these many variables negatively impact the self-efficacy of the children. According to Bandura's 1996 article in "Child Development," multifaceted impact of self-efficacy on academic functioning, self-efficacy beliefs positively or negatively touch every aspect of people's lives. It impacts their motivation, how they face problems, and the decisions they make. Current research shows that high-performing, high-poverty schools are successful because they have a strong sense of community and belonging, hold high expectations for all students, and subscribe to the notion that schools can and do make a difference in student outcomes. This action science research study was designed to focus on improving the self-efficacy beliefs for the children at the research site with the hope of increasing their academic achievement. Specifically, this study attempted to answer the questions: to what extent does the implementation of a community building intervention affect the self-efficacy of students and to what extent will the implementation of a community building intervention affect student achievement. The results were surprising: rather than supporting a positive connection, the study brought out the idea that overindulging students may actually do them a disservice. [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/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]