Retaining qualified teachers in America's schools is one of the nation's challenges in education. Current research revealed teacher turnover had risen to 16.9% nationally, which equates to 2.7 million teachers, including 2.1 million who left the profession before retirement. In order to make a positive change in teacher retention, teacher perceptions of needs that lead to job satisfaction needed to be investigated. This sequential, explanatory, mixed-method study was conducted in a public school district to investigate the factors that lead to teacher job satisfaction. The research questions explored elementary teachers' perceptions of organizational, monetary, and support factors using a preexisting, 5-point, Likert-scaled questionnaire and six semistructured interviews. The survey responses were analyzed descriptively to understand the factors leading to job satisfaction. Interview data were coded through the interpretive approach and themes were distinguished to gain further explanation of the quantitative data. The findings from this study indicated teachers perceived collegial support, principal support, class size, expectations, discipline issues, benefits, professional development, and salary as significant factors that affected teacher job satisfaction and retention decisions. As a result, a professional learning community action plan was developed to improve teacher job satisfaction and retention decisions. Implications for positive social change include the recognition of needs and perceptions of teachers in order to improve job satisfaction, retain teachers, and positively affect student achievement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]