Teacher turnover is associated with administrative leadership; however, there is an empirical gap in the practices that principals enact that influence teacher turnover. This article uses in-depth case studies and interviews with 32 teachers across two high-turnover and two low turnover middle schools in one large urban public school district to examine teachers’ perceptions of principals’ leadership practices. When compared to principals leading high-turnover schools, we found three common practices that characterized principals of low-turnover schools: (a) recognizing teachers as knowledgeable contributors, (b) clearly communicating the school’s vision around high-quality teaching, and (c) centering student learning.
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