This study investigated teachers' perception of building-level authentic leadership and its effect on teachers' perception of change. A survey comprised of a pre-STEAM questionnaire, the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), and Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) sent through Qualtrics was used to collected data and was analyzed using SPSS29. Results showed that certain factors including years of teaching, number of hours of professional development, and grade level taught have an impact on teachers' perceptions of and perceived barriers to implanting STEAM curriculum: the change agent. This study first examined the relationship between teacher demographics and perception of STEAM and barrier to implementing STEAM curriculum. Teachers are accustomed to dealing with changes in educational policy and practice, especially since No Child Left Behind was enacted in 2002. This changing nature of education affects teachers more than administrators or district-level staff because they are required to implement new trends in their classrooms and prepare to teach new content and in innovative ways to prepare learners for the changing demands of the workforce. Next, the study examined the effects of teachers' perceptions of the authentic leadership of building-level leaders on teacher perception of and barriers to implementing STEAM curriculum. The Authentic Leadership Questionnaire was used to gather data on the authentic leadership styles of building level leaders (Gardner, Avolio, & Walumbwa, 2006). Leaders leading in the authentic leadership style lead with values to impact change (Otaghsara & Hamzehzadeh, 2017). Building-level leaders can impact and promote organizational change in schools (Urick, 2020). Lastly, the primary objective of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of authentic leadership demonstrated by building-level administrators and teachers' perception of change within the educational environment. It is widely acknowledged that effective school leadership is paramount to the success of school improvement initiatives (Ozdemir et al., 2023). Building-level leaders play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of change within school settings (Hall, 2013), exerting significant influence on the attitudes and behaviors of teachers as they navigate through periods of transformation and innovation. One current K-12 educational trend is a greater emphasis on STEAM initiatives in the classroom. STEAM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics education, is geared at teaching and supporting the whole person, creating reflective, collaborative learners (Imad, 2019). As technology industries become more prominent in local and global economies, the need for collaborative thinkers is increasing and STEAM education is becoming increasingly important to career readiness. While STEAM was not the focus of this study, it acted as the change agent studied. [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.]