In an urban Texas Independent School District (TXISD), novice teachers leave the field of education for different careers within the first 3 years of employment at a rate that is nearly twice the Texas average and near the top of the national novice teacher attrition rate range. This study examined the lived experiences of 23 TXISD novice teachers to better understand why some chose to leave and others chose to stay in their first 3 years of teaching. The research question addressed the experiences and perceptions of novice teachers during the first 3 years of teaching. The conceptual framework of this study was guided by the frameworks outlined by Guarino, Santibanez, and Daley that addressed several aspects of the problem, including understanding the characteristics of novice teachers who chose to leave or stay in the teaching profession, and the characteristics of schools that impacted novice teacher retention decisions. In this phenomenological study, semi structured interviews were conducted with 9 novice teachers who left the teaching profession and a focus group was conducted with 14 novice teachers who chose to remain in the district. In addition, a qualitative survey of 14 district leaders with extensive experience working with novice teachers provided a 3rd perspective. Inductive analysis of the collected data identified categories and themes from transcripts of the interviews and the focus group to identify key problem areas. These problems included excessive novice teacher workloads, ineffective mentoring, and lack of administration support. Recommendations included reducing novice teacher workloads; extracurricular responsibilities; building a more effective mentoring program; and providing teachers with positive, helpful critiquing rather than relying solely on negative comments that focus on problems and not solutions. [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.]