To date, the McCormick Center has conducted seven cohorts of RTL with 119 novice administrators from across Illinois completing the academy. At the conclusion of the seventh cohort, the McCormick Center engaged Erikson Institute to conduct an external evaluation report on the effectiveness of the RTL academy (Hadi-Tabassum & Beaudoin Ryan, 2023). This research brief focuses on two of four of the main research questions addressed in the evaluation: 1) if RTL meets the unique needs of novice administrators and 2) the potential impact of RTL on administrators’ own commitment to the field, support for professional development for teaching staff, and future staff retention. The two research questions highlighted here have theoretical implications regarding staff turnover in the field. The information presented reflects key findings from the external evaluation as well as additional internal analyses of the data by McCormick Center staff. (author abstract)