The Administrators’ Role in Teacher Retention and Their Role on Teachers’ Perceptions of School Climate at an Exemplar Title I School: A Qualitative Study

This study looks at how principals affect teacher perception of school climate and teacher retention at Title I schools. While teacher retention and school climate have historically been issues at Title I schools, the issue has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study explored an elementary school in South Carolina through the lens of Critical Systems Theory. According to publicly available data, this school was an anomaly among Title I schools regarding the climate and teacher retention, with both measures being extremely high. To explore these phenomena, semi-structured interviews were conducted with both the teachers and administrators at the school. Ten teachers and both school level administrators were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted. The findings suggest that administrators have a large impact on teachers’ perception of school climate and teacher retention at Title I schools. Many of the teachers spoke about how active both administrators are. They are visible, hands-on, and do not micromanage the teachers. They have helped create an environment where there is not only a mutual trust between the teachers and administration, but also among the teachers themselves. This positive climate has made turnover virtually non-existent, with multiple teachers passing up promotions or forgoing maternity leave to stay at the school. Following analysis and discussion, recommendations for policy and practice are discussed.