Stemming the tide of attrition among our teachers of color: how racial congruency is associated with teacher perceptions of principal effectiveness and retention

Teacher attrition among our teachers of color coupled with our shifting student demographics calls for an informed perspective regarding the impact of school leadership and racial congruency effects. This study uses a hierarchical linear regression and SASS data set to explore: 1) how racial congruency impacts teacher perceptions of their principal's effectiveness and 2) how both the teacher perception of their principal's effectiveness and racial congruency correlate to retention. Findings suggest that racial congruency/non-congruency significantly impacts teacher perceptions of principal effectiveness when controlling for teacher/principal gender, school level, and the urbanicity of the school.