Teacher attrition, as part of the bigger issue of teacher shortage, has caused increasing concerns in the past decades for both policymakers and educational leaders. Its negative effects impact various aspects of a school. Historically struggling schools serving students in poverty areas are perennially and negatively affected by high turnover rates at deeper levels. Building on existing literature that examines the correlation between school contextual factors and teacher attrition, this study examines the responses of 300+ teachers from Western and Southeast Michigan, gathered through a 24-questions survey. Data was analyzed against the study’s research questions using the Cronbach’s alpha test and one-way ANOVA. For the first research question, the study looked at the effects of the school principal and his/her leadership capacity on the teachers’ decision to leave a school, a school district, or the teaching profession altogether. The second research question dealt with differences related to how teachers from various backgrounds were affected by the quality of their school principals and work environments. The findings support the study’s hypothesis that the principal's role in building a positive school culture, along with the principal's behaviors, practices, and leadership capacity significantly affect teacher satisfaction and retention. Some differences do exist with respect to how teachers from various grade levels are affected by their learning environments (including principal leadership), and to what organizational factors influence their decisions to stay.

In today's America, not every child starts on a level playing field, and very few children move ahead based solely on hard work or talent. Generational poverty and a lack of cultural capital hold many students back, robbing them of the opportunity to move up professionally and socially. Children of immigrants are especially at-risk because, in addition to facing poverty, race, geographical location or economic disadvantages, they are also confronted with failure due to their limited or non-existent English proficiency. This study focuses on the degree to which teachers in a mid-sized urban school district take into consideration the individual needs of immigrant children in the process of their education. The study also examines the preparation teachers have had to equip them with knowledge of best practices in teaching immigrant children, and the relationship between teachers' practices, beliefs, and their demographic and personal characteristics (age, gender, years of experience, level of education, etc.). Quantitative data was collected via a survey. Interviews with teachers and one central office administrator provided data for the qualitative section of the study. The findings revealed that teachers, in general, appeared to lack knowledge of specific policies for mainstreaming immigrant students into general education classrooms; their use of effective teaching practices for working with immigrant children were limited; and most of the teachers had not participated actively in professional development that focused on teaching immigrant children.

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