Teachers are indispensable in the public education system in California. There is a need for more credentialed teachers in California and a need for those willing to pursue the profession. A qualitative collective case study addressed low morale, teacher satisfaction, and decreasing desire to remain in the profession due to COVID-19. The demands and expectations are further burdening K-12 brick-and-mortar public education, and the predicament of California schools to retain educators was the focus of the research study. The purpose of this study is to explore teachers' perceptions of professional development opportunities. The participants were K-12 public school teachers teaching in California during the school years altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. I addressed the problem through a qualitative case study of 15 participants teaching in California's public brick-and-mortar schools between 2019 and 2022. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. I designed the interview and focus group questions to collect data specifically related to the three research questions evaluated by a panel of experts. I reviewed the data through a framework of resilience theory, initially proposed by Norman Garmezy in the 1970s. I analyzed the data using ATLAS.ti and manual coding methods. Three themes emerged from the data: (a) determination to remain in the profession, (b) perseverance to meet challenges, and (c) tenacity to remain resilient. The findings suggest that teachers struggle with mental health, managing responsibilities, and work-life balance. The teachers expressed their desire to be recognized, increase student/parent involvement, and increase compensation. Educators in California expressed the need to be respected by stakeholders, which would influence their resilience to remain in the profession. A recommendation for further research is to gather data using a mixed-method approach on long-term resilience of K-12 teachers in California or replicate the study with teachers from another state or country. [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.]