There has been extensive research and commentary blaming schools for the achievement disparity that exists among its students. Attempts to solve this issue have focused primarily on instruction and school tasks. Anthony Bryk and Barbara Schneider (2002) found social trust as a major attribute to school effectiveness. Their 1997 study of Chicago's schools found that schools with high levels of trust were far more likely to make improvements over time than those with low levels. School leaders and teachers play a significant role in the process of student success. Bryk and Schneider (2002) posited that relational trust exists between principals and teachers when teachers feel respected as professionals by their principals, see their principals as competent school managers, perceive their school-site administrators as having integrity, and when teachers believe that their principals have a genuine interest in their personal well-being. This dissertation explores the existence of relational trust as defined by Anthony Bryk and Barbara Schneider (2002) in urban high schools across New York City. Specific attention is given to principal-teacher trust dynamics, graduation rates, and school demographics. Employing a quantitative approach, the New York City School Survey-2016 Teacher Survey results were analyzed for teacher-principal trust, graduation rates, and school demographics. Findings revealed that schools identified as having high and medium graduation rates had a higher % of Teachers Who Say They Trust the Principal as compared to teachers in schools with low graduation rates. The effects of School Demographics on Teacher Trust showed that the overall graduation rate was significantly impacted by % of Students with Disabilities, % of English Language Learners, and % of students in Poverty. The higher the percentage of English Language Learners, the greater the impact on the graduation rate. The higher the percentage of students in poverty, the greater the impact on the graduation rate. No significant correlations were observed between Teacher Trust in Principal and school demographics. Percent of Teachers Who Say They Trust the Principal as predicted by Graduation Rate, and School Demographics showed a significant effect of Graduation Rate, 4 years on % Of Teachers Who Say They Trust the Principal. [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.]