In an effort to determine what factors were believed to influence teacher absenteeism in a small southwestern rural district in Tennessee, a study was conducted using information from Survey Monkey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/satisfaction_absences) to obtain responses from 89 teachers in grades third through fifth at seven elementary schools located in a southwestern rural area of Tennessee. This quantitative study addressed relationships among teacher absenteeism in terms of sick and personal leave days used by the teacher, their professional evaluation scores, and the teachers' satisfaction with teaching in general. To help understand teacher's satisfaction with teaching, specific questions were asked as to whether they loved teaching, were satisfied with their current position, and felt confident in their ability to teach. The responses were examined to identify variables that might impact teacher absenteeism and provide the district with information which could decrease the teachers' attempt to miss days. The methods used to identify and analyze the data were based on the survey of Bentley and Rempel's (1980) "Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire". Quantitative analysis revealed of the relationships between teachers' absenteeism, their TVAAS-based evaluation scores, and their satisfaction with teaching that teachers who, on the whole, are more often in class and on the job tend to be evaluated more positively and to be more satisfied with teaching in general. To some extent, the strength of these relationships appear to be greater among more experienced teachers. The analyses of the relationships between teachers' absenteeism, their TVAAS-based evaluation scores, and their satisfaction with teaching suggest that teachers who, on the whole, are more often in class and on the job tend to be evaluated more positively and to be more satisfied with teaching in general. To some extent, the strength of these relationships appears to be greater among more experienced teachers. At the same time, this study finds no support for a direct link between satisfaction with teaching and teachers' scores on the evaluation system embraced by the state. [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.]