Retaining teachers is a pressing issue facing many urban middle schools in the southern US. Urban middle schools continually face increased teacher turnover rates in spite of state mandated induction and mentoring programs. Drawing from Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, the purpose of the qualitative case study was to examine urban middle teachers' perceptions of the induction and mentoring program located in one school district. Research questions for this study addressed whether novice middle school teachers perceive the current new teacher mentoring program effective in retaining teachers. 10 teachers completed both a teacher survey and a personal interview. Transcribed data were validated via member checking, coded into categories aligned to the focus of the research, and then themes were determined inductively by the researcher. The results from this study revealed that the program itself did not have much of an impact on teacher retention in the district and in the field. The findings also indicated having a mentor had a substantial and positive impact on teachers' professional and emotional needs. Results suggest that the district's program does not need to be more extensive, but rather better organized. Implications for positive social change include providing research-based evidence to enhance the program by increasing teacher retention and job satisfaction of urban teachers. [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.]