This qualitative study assesses how teachers in a large comprehensive high school in the San Francisco Bay Area perceive and interpret their role in supporting historically marginalized students with social and emotional development in culturally relevant ways. It also sought to understand their perceived barriers to supporting students' social and emotional development in culturally relevant ways. Interviews were held with six teachers who shared their personal histories, training and approaches to helping their students with their social and emotional development. The following research questions grounded this study: 1. How do teachers perceive and interpret social-emotional development, and what does this mean for their teaching practices? How do teachers approach supporting students’ socioemotional development in culturally relevant ways? 2. What are teachers’ challenges in supporting the social and emotional development of historically underserved students in culturally relevant ways? The research questions explored the experiences and strategies teachers face in the classroom and how they create classroom environments to support the social and emotional development of their students in the urban setting. To understand the challenges teachers face in implementing culturally relevant social-emotional development practices for students from historically marginalized backgrounds, I draw on the conceptual frameworks of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Social Emotional Learning and Culturally Responsive Teaching. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy highlighted that our educational systems posed challenges, making it essential to prepare teachers to educate students from diverse cultural backgrounds effectively. This approach was crucial for the academic success of historically underserved and disadvantaged students. The findings reveal that teachers view social-emotional development as essential to their teaching, closely linked to understanding and incorporating students' cultural backgrounds. To support this, they design culturally relevant curricula, integrate diverse perspectives, and connect lessons to students' lived experiences, aiming to empower students through critical thinking, community engagement, and restorative practices. Teachers also emphasize the importance of understanding their own identities in relation to their students' cultures, which informs their instructional strategies and helps create supportive, inclusive classrooms. However, they face significant challenges, particularly a lack of effective training on social and emotional development and culturally relevant pedagogy, leaving them unprepared to address students’ mental health needs and limiting their ability to foster empathetic classroom environments. The final chapter outlines the implications of this research study for policy, practice, and future inquiry. There is an increased acknowledgment of the importance of supporting students' social and emotional development, particularly in culturally relevant ways, in the field of education. The policy, practice, and research implications provide an opportunity to deepen the work in this emerging area.