In today's high-stakes educational environment, students need to see more than standards, bubble sheets, rules, and regulations. It is possible for teachers and schools to build positive, productive relationships with students while maintaining a culture of excellence. Students of all ages need to learn from someone who is not only an expert in their content area, but also from someone who is not afraid to build positive, productive, and professional relationships with students. The authors believe nine areas provide the framework for building successful student relationships at Moore Norman Technology Center in Oklahoma. These nine areas include building traits of excellence, simplicity, consistency, humility, fairness, openness, security, and kindness, and stopping bad behaviors before they start in classrooms and school culture. These traits can allow students to experience a school that definitely has their best interest at heart, while at the same time pushing them to high academic standards. In their experience, the authors have found that each area can impact student success inside and outside the classroom. By becoming aware of how they interact with students and by readjusting their actions, the authors move from being the "sage on the stage" to a place where students can have a constructive, safe place to grow and learn.