I can speak from personal experience to this, having worked in a spectrum (top private school in DC area, rural school serving very poor seasonal workers’ children, working-class city school and several urban, very low income schools). Many colleagues have come and gone, and some — who were outstanding teachers — simply didn’t “fit” with the environment in a high-needs school. They were much happier, and more effective, when they transferred to more middle-class settings. I was the reverse — satisfactory in a higher-SES school, but really *far* more productive in a challenging environment. I know others who feel the same way — our worst nightmare is to be bumped to a quiet, high-achieving middle class school;-) There are probably research studies that quantify the characteristis of teachers who are significantly better adapted to one end of the spectrum versus the other; what does need to be remembered is that teaching excellence is situational, and that moving the “best” teachers to the low-performing schools may not have the desired effect, as those teachers may be much less effective in a very different work environment.

A key to good results in all schools is excellent leadership at the administrative level. Collaboration and teamwork among staff is critical too.