A significant teacher shortage exists across the United States due to factors ranging from accountability policies for the performance growth of students, the overwhelming workload due to teacher shortages, and the lack of competitive salaries that other professions offer. Consequently, state officials have introduced and implemented changes to initiatives that will improve how school districts recruit new teachers and encourage tenured teachers to remain in the profession. The purpose of the study was to gain the perspective of state and local education officials, administrators, and teachers on the effectiveness of the current teacher recruitment and retention initiatives in Georgia, Mississippi, and Virginia. Surprisingly, the study's findings revealed that more than half (52%) of school leaders and teachers needed to be more familiar with the SREB organization. The fact that over half of the teachers and leaders was an unintentional finding but one that weighs heavily on the impact of the state's capacity to improve teacher recruitment and retention initiatives. The commonality of responses included providing a more effective teacher evaluation system, including more financial incentives for teachers, establishing stronger partnerships with local universities, and focusing on the "Grow Your Own" initiative for recruitment. [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.]