Teachers are trained to be mentors, counselors, and friends to a group of advisees, shepherding them through the term papers and broken hearts of adolescence. Each advisory group of about a dozen students stays together, with the same adviser, until graduation. By creating that kind of culture, with promising indicators that it is paying off academically, Bronx Lab appears to be succeeding at something that has eluded many high schools, creating effective advisories. In this article, the author discusses how these advisories and solid relationships with educators help students perform at the top of their game.