Abstract
The paper is an exploration of dual-role school district leadership in a small rural state. Dual-role leaders are individuals who fulfill all the roles of both the school superintendent and principal. Smaller rural school districts are the districts that often utilize a dual-role superintendent and principal model. The position of principal and superintendent each have their unique and required job responsibilities, the combination of roles make these job requirements difficult to complete. When these job characteristics are not completed at a high level, there are negative effects on teacher turnover, student achievement, and leadership accountability begin to reveal themselves in the district. A qualitative methods approach was used to research the phenomenon of dual-role school administrator turnover and burnout. Interviews of current dual-role administrators and former dual-role administrators who are now working in singular superintendent roles were conducted. Keywords: qualitative, phenomenon, dual-role administrator, singular-role administrator, burnout, turnover