While most teachers in Tennessee remain in their positions for many years, it is also the case that some of the most effective teachers depart each year, either to go teach in a different school, a different district, or sometimes to leave the profession entirely. Not all of these moves are avoidable, but finding ways to retain as many high quality teachers as possible represents a central challenge for all administrators. This brief adds to a substantial body of research on teacher retention by focusing on the relationship between retention rates and teacher effectiveness and the variation across schools and districts in the state of Tennessee. The report addresses the following questions: (1) What are the overall retention rates in Tennessee public schools? How does the likelihood that a teacher remains for another year differ by the teachers' years of teaching experience; (2) How do retention rates vary according to teachers' overall level of effectiveness derived from Tennessee's multiple measure teacher evaluation system (TEAM); (3) Are highly effective early career and minority teachers retained at similar rates to other highly effective teachers; (4) How do overall retention rates and the retention rates of highly effective teachers vary across districts; and Does district size help to explain any variation; and (5) What school-level factors seem to be driving retention, particularly of highly effective teachers? Possible strategies for improving work conditions with the goal of increasing school level retention of highly effective teachers are presented.