Twenty to 30 percent of new teachers leave their field within the first 3 years; 9.3 percent don't even make it through their first full year; and after 5 years, roughly 50 percent of beginners have left teaching. Reasons for leaving include pursuit of a more personally appropriate career, low pay, the desire to raise one's own children, and importantly, exhaustion, disillusionment, lack of confidence, and inadequate support. This booklet provides an overview of the wealth of information available for education practitioners and policymakers addressing the problem of supporting and retaining beginning teachers. Schools that provide high levels of support for beginners will retain more and better teachers, and students will reap the rewards of a more positive and effective learning environment overall. Topics include what new teachers need, implementing a program for beginning teachers (new teacher induction programs, teacher mentoring programs, and school-university collaboration), how community members can support new teachers, suggestions for beginning teachers, special considerations for rural schools, and supporting bilingual and minority schools. Three beginning teacher assistance programs practiced in Montana, Oregon, and Washington are described and examples are provided of how unions and state departments in the Northwest support beginning teachers. The appendix contains resources for beginning teachers and mentors. (RT)