There is a growing teacher retention and attrition crisis in rural Mississippi. Several factors appear to be contributing to this increasingly bad situation. Lack of teacher preparation, through teacher preparation programs, is considered the most important aspect of increasing teacher retention and decreasing attrition in rural Mississippi. Lack of management skills such as organization and time management, an unsupportive work environment such as lack of mentors and professional development, and liability factors such as high-stakes testing and No Child Left Behind aside are also considered factors contributing to teacher retention and respectful attrition (Troen & Boles, 2003). Over the next decade, we will need to hire 2.2 million new teachers, and no one knows where we will find them (Troen & Boles, 2003). Currently, teachers are recruited from a pool of underqualified and poorly prepared candidates. These candidates are then thrown into a situation without mentoring or incentives for success. This may be one of the reasons why half of new teachers quit after the first five years of teaching. When teaching becomes a true profession, more academically competent people will be attracted to it, colleges will be forced to improve the quality of their education, and better-prepared teachers will enter the classroom and improve the profession (Troen and Boles, 2003). In the meantime, teacher quality will continue to decline and our children will continue to be left behind. The supply of teachers has generally exceeded demand. Those days are long gone. Statisticians predicted the shortage of teachers and researchers long before the shortage actually occurred...... middle of article ......& Smith, MB (1997). Beginning teachers: are they still abandoning the profession? The Clearing House, 70(4), 211. Retrieved from ProQuest. McHenry, A. (2009). Memoirs and theses. Retrieved March 28, 2011 from ProQuest: http://proquest.comMcLauren, S., Smith, W., & Smillie, A. (2009). Teacher retention: Problems and solutions. Retrieved from ERIC.Nichols, J. (2004). Recruiting and interviewing teachers in rural school districts: Protocol or potluck. The Rural Educator, 26(1), 40. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Podsen, I. (2002). Teacher Retention: What is your weakest link? A look at education. Troen, V. and Boles, K. (2003). Who teaches your children? Why the teacher crisis is worse than you think and what can be done about it. Yale University Press. Tye, BB and O'Brian, L. (September 2002). Why do experienced teachers leave the profession??