When teachers create a classroom culture based upon unconditional positive regard, take proactive steps to teaching expectations, maintaining self-control and holding students accountable without multiple warnings and repeated requests everyone is more successful. Student scores increase, bullying and other behavioral issues decrease and teachers get to spend more time teaching. This session will provide practical, tangible strategies your team can use immediately to help the students in your school thrive. - Researchers have documented the importance of caring teacher-student and student-student relationships in fostering students' character development, commitment to school and in promoting academic success (e.g. Blum & Libby, 2004; Hamre & Pianta, 2006; Hawkins, Smith, & Catalano, 2004; Jennings & Greenberg 2009; cited in Durlak, et al., 2011).