Typically, in K-12 settings, school principals are identified in the literature as having the most impact on student success due to the authority and the power they have over others in the school, and secondary school principals are no exception. However, their perspectives on power and the impact it has on student achievement are less understood, with limited research conducted on these phenomena. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault, this case study focuses on three secondary school principals’ understandings of power and their perceptions of how power affects student success. Study participants come from a rural community in Manitoba. Data sources involved interviews, policies principals use to legitimize their power, and the researcher’s field notes. The data analysis produced five themes: (1) the intersection of students and power, (2) principal’s techniques of power as forming a continuum, (3) how power struggles impact relationships, (4) principal’s power as a facilitator and inhibitor of student success, and (5) the extent to which principals legitimize and are legitimized by power. The analysis also provided implications in the areas of research, practice, and policy. Recommendations of this research for educators, for policy makers, and for future research conclude this thesis.