Positive climates in youth-serving organizations abandon adversarial encounters and enlist youth as partners in empowerment. The authors describe this approach, drawing from the "Cultivating Productive Peer Relationships" curriculum in the "No Disposable Kids" training program. Adults need strategies to build respectful relationships and to motivate students to take responsibility for their behavior. A productive peer climate is a prerequisite to creating environments of excellence. (Contains 1 table.)