As elsewhere in Canada, the provincial educational system has adopted an accountability framework to improve student success by putting the emphasis on the rendering of accounts and production of a success plan. However, the implementation of school success plans is not always self-evident for socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This case study highlights the difficulties experienced by a new principal in such a context. It shows the staff's resistance to change when facing the success plan. For teaching purposes, it opens the discussion about the beliefs and responsibilities of all educational stakeholders concerning student success and about effective principal leadership.