How many teachers stay, especially in the schools that need them most? The question has attracted widespread attention as policymakers have recognized that expert teaching is the most important school-related factor in student achievement. Data show that poor and minority students assigned to ineffective teachers lag significantly behind their peers, a problem that compounds over time. By the same token, disadvantaged students can catch up if they have several effective teachers in a row. "Education Week" has reflected the concern about teaching, publishing an edition of its Quality Counts report in 2003 on "hard-to-staff" schools. As one of the reporters, the author followed six aspiring teachers from the Cleveland area--all interested in working in an urban setting, all promising--to see where they would land and why. They were: (1) Lyndsay J. Dimengo; (2) Robert P. Ristau; (3) Andratesha M. Fritzgerald; (4) Michelle Flanagan; (5) Heather L. Penny; and (6) Allison Hauserman. While common wisdom says as many as half of new teachers quit after five years, the half-dozen "Education Week" profiled are still teaching, though only two are in needy schools.