School leaders need effective, affordable approaches to retain their teacher workforce. We investigated a promising, low-cost option for school leaders to encourage teacher retention: subject-area specialization in elementary grades (K-5). Using data on North Carolina elementary grades teachers and schools in the 2011-2012 through 2015-2016 academic years, we track the incidence of subject-area specialization, assess whether teaching in a specialist role promotes retention, and examine whether subject-area specialization is an effective retention strategy for certain schools and teachers. Descriptive analyses show specialization is common in upper elementary grades and has become a more widely used assignment strategy over time. Retention analyses indicate that elementary grades teachers are more likely to return to the same school after becoming a specialist. These results vary by school and teacher characteristics, suggesting that specialization may be a more effective retention strategy in urban schools, in non-high-need schools, and for Black teachers.