Teacher retention and shortages have long been an issue with this profession. This is not a new topic, but after the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm in March of 2020, education has not been the same and our students are paying the price with the shortage of high-quality teachers in our nation's classrooms. Teachers have left the profession through attrition, resignation, or early retirement at the greatest rates in the history of education. A trend that is now being observed is the greater number of losses of teachers that teach the same subject area in a school. The Texas middle school campus that was the site of this study is no exception. Year upon year, according to the school's Campus Improvement Plan from 2013-2023, the retention of Reading Language Arts teachers has been phenomenally low. School principals must now determine the best retention strategies of teachers, as well as those specific subject area teachers that are leaving the school at greater rates than others. Video conferencing interviews were held with 15 Reading Language Arts teachers that left the middle school that was the site of this study. They were asked interview questions regarding their time at the middle school and their resignation from their Reading Language Arts (RLA) teaching position. The study utilized a qualitive method approach and the researcher identified how administrator support and teacher unmet needs, as they relate to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, played a role in their decision to resign their positions. This study assisted with the understanding of how the lived experiences of the 15 Reading Language Arts teachers differed from other teachers in the school building. A leader may believe that all teachers and staff are sharing similar experiences, but that was not the case in this study. The most pivotal finding within this study was that each type of subject area teacher shared similar commonalities and characteristics and so, therefore, their lived experiences were far from alike. Reading Language Arts teachers tended to be more emotional, introverted, and sensitive as described by the research participants. Math teachers tended to be more logical and less emotional. School leaders must understand the characteristics of the different types of subject area teachers to ensure they are meeting their needs. Teachers are asked to differentiate according to the needs of their diverse students in their classrooms. Principals must also differentiate how they support the needs of their teachers in different departments within their school building. It is that simple. The first step is to build solid relationships with teachers through conversations and get to know them and their professional needs and begin to understand them on a basic human level. This is where the support begins and where the magic of retention happens. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]