This study assesses the cultural, social, and ethical issues that an interim principal would need to face following a Level III Crisis in a U.S. middle school building. This level crisis is the most serious, as a previous administrator has passed-away suddenly causing disruption to the school district's daily and long-term objectives. The replacement principal must not only keep the mandated testing on schedule for the students, but also ensure the following in order to continue the path for testing: (a) establishing District and School Crisis Teams, (b) releasing an informational letter to the parents, (c) issuing a statement to the media, and (d) designing a new scholarship in the deceased principal's name for this achievement test. This study found that accurate school leadership depends on holistic behaviorism and not individual behaviors. This includes administrators being well-versed in the mission and objectives of the district. Objectives included sharing the district's vision and plan while encouraging others to move forward (Kouzes and Posner, 2007).