Buffalo Creek Elementary School in Houston, Texas, has been recognized for its success in serving its students--approximately 600 low-income Hispanic children in grades preK-5. A study of the school, which sought to develop a detailed picture of school effectiveness, identified 33 indicators of success. Each of these indicators is briefly described, but the overarching explanation of what makes Buffalo Creek an outstanding school is found in the quality of its teachers and principal. In addition to having much content knowledge (including Spanish and ESL) and much pedagogical knowledge, the staff has special expertise in the area of relationships. Every one of the success indicators is a function of the staff's ability to relate to the children, the parents, and each other. Also, the staff shares a common ideology of why the school exists, what is supposed to happen to the children, and their role as teachers (or principal) in making it happen. The Buffalo Creek staff is gifted at relationship skills, and this is the key. Studying Buffalo Creek leads to the conclusion that children in poverty must have teachers who can connect with them. The teachers' desire and ability to live with the children all day, every day, is prerequisite to the children's learning. (SV)