LAURA JULIA ROSENBACH. An evaluation of a Strategic Staffing Initiative in a large urban school district. (Under the direction of DR. CLAUDIA FLOWERS) This mixed method study examined the impact of a district-wide Strategic Staffing Initiative (SSI) that paid school personnel to transfer to low-performing schools. Surveys were administered to three different stakeholder groups including principals (N=9), staff who received bonuses for working in the schools (N=32), and other staff members in the school (N=91). In addition, school effectiveness scores were examined to determine changes in school effectiveness before and after implementation of the initiative. The findings suggest that the SSI had mixed impact on the schools. Survey results indicated that respondents believed that the initiative had a positive impact on student achievement and increased the number of effective teachers in the schools, but principals reported that more staff was needed to make a long-term impact. Principals indicated the benefits of the initiative were (a) the focus on the school's vision and goals, and (b) the authority to remove weak teachers. All stakeholder groups reported that low-performing schools continue to struggle to recruit and retain effective teachers and that more incentives may be needed to keep teachers to create a stabilize staff. While school effectiveness scores increased after the SSI, the changes were small and not statistically significant. The study is important for educational leaders and reformers because it examines one large school districts approach to solving the challenges urban schools face in trying to hire and retain highly effective teachers in its lowest performing schools and to implement reform policies that are sustainable and result in substantial gains in student achievement levels.