A conceptual model of the relationship between stress, the mediating role of burnout, and depressive symptoms was examined. Results indicated that teachers (n = 267) experiencing greater stress were more burned out. The subscale emotional exhaustion was moderately related to depressive symptoms, whereas depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment had small positive relationships. After controlling for burnout and demographics, the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms was small but significant. Emotional exhaustion mediated the association between stress and depressive symptoms. The total effect of stress on depressive symptoms, taking together the direct and indirect effects via burnout, accounted for 43% of the total variance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.