Effective school leadership has been ranked the greatest indicator in the hiring and retaining of highly qualified teachers. Considering that the classroom teacher has the highest impact on student academic success, issues such as teacher absenteeism and teacher turnover absorb a great deal of time and resources of school principals while hampering the learning environment for students. Teacher absenteeism and turnover are further exacerbated in school divisions located in urban environments, as students present with higher needs for support socially, emotionally, and academically. However, there are no studies that evaluate school principals who infuse their governance model with the ethic of care and the impact that may have on teacher absenteeism and retention. Using the "Caring School Leadership Questionnaire" ("CSQL") that is theoretically based on the three determinants of care (psychological, organizational/workplace, and management), quantitative data were gathered from 293 teacher responses (PreK-12) in two urban school divisions located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Although the multivariate regression did not reveal a statistically significant relationship between caring school principals and teacher absenteeism, a binomial logistic regression demonstrated that increasing teacher retention could be predicted by caring school principals. Upon further analysis of this research, there is a need for incorporating the instruction of this ethic in school leadership programs, including the underpinnings of the ethic based on the three determinants of care in ongoing professional development experiences, and reflecting on the reconceptualized role of school leadership as the chief moral leader as opposed to the chief instructional leader. [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.]