This qualitative exploratory case study focused on the achievement gap in mathematics that exists in one urban North Carolina middle school and the strategies used by school personnel to narrow this gap. The goal of this research was to determine effective instructional strategies and best practices used to engage students in learning that will assist other schools and school districts in North Carolina in their efforts to improve the achievement gap in mathematics. The results of this research study provided themes for both teacher perceptions of school contributors to the achievement gap and instructional strategies and practices for improving the gap in mathematics. NVivo assisted in sorting interview questions and survey data into tree nodes. The nodes assisted in establishing common themes about teacher perceptions of school contributors to the achievement gap for minority students. Based on interviews and survey data, teachers easily identified and described the specific school contributors to the achievement gap. Those contributors included node themes concerning teacher turnover, continuity of teaching assignments, parent involvement, student mathematical background knowledge, insufficient instructional time, and students' apathetic attitude toward learning. The most important research from this study focused on the instructional strategies and practices that are working to engage students in learning and improving their academic achievement in mathematics at "Middle School X". During this part of the research, the following eight node themes emerged concerning planning strategies, classroom management, instructional model, instructional adjustment, student engagement, social interaction, differentiated activities, and assessment practices. [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.]