The Mold That Almost Ate the Principal

Abstract

New-building mold was a bane for many home construction companies and new homeowners during the 1990s. It was not unusual to read or watch the news and see the tragedy played out in one’s local community. Untold, however, is the story of the toll new-building mold can take on school systems and their principals, especially as these mold problems might be a smokescreen or lightning rod for other things that go on in the daily life of a learning community. Griswold Elementary School’s problem with mold illustrates several phenomena for school administrators, namely, that organizations can be unwieldy and unpredictable at times, schools are highly symbolic and political structures, school reform involves the whole community, context is important for understanding and guiding organizational problem-solving efforts, effective communication is critical to effective organizational functioning, authority structures are important for accomplishing many tasks, and thankfully, organizations can learn from their own behavior.