In chapter two of Ryan Cooper's textbook, Those Who Can, Teach, he lists eight characteristics of an effective school: “[1] high expectations for student achievement, [2] communication between teachers, [3] a task orientation on the part of the staff, [4] the ability to keep students focused on the task, [5] the little time dedicated to behavior management, [6] educational leadership of the principal, [7] parental participation, and [8] the school environment” (51). While all eight characteristics above contribute greatly to a school's overall success, some characteristics have a greater ability to influence the success of a particular school. Educators Wong and Wong point out that research consistently states that effective teachers exhibit three characteristics: 1) they are good classroom managers, 2) they teach for learning and mastery, and 3) they have positive expectations (8-10). Since I believe that the foundation of school effectiveness depends on teachers, I consider characteristics that focus on effective interaction between teacher and student to be more important. Taken from the list above, these characteristics are (1) teachers who display high expectations for student achievement, (3) a task orientation among teaching staff, and (4) the ability to keep students on task. A teacher's effect on students is significant because teachers have a greater influence on student achievement than a school. Robert Marzano's study separating a school's effect on student achievement from a teacher's effect on student achievement supports this notion. Marzano found that an ineffective teacher in an effective school environment has little to no effect on student achievement. In contrast, an effective teacher in an ineffective school environment has been found to have a... average level of paper... aff, as paraprofessionals, counselors, librarians, specialists, and even janitors, come to know and care about the points of strengths and weaknesses of students as well as teachers and administrators. More importantly, they help provide solutions to overcome poor student achievement. A motivated support staff also contributes to the overall success of a school. In summary, I believe that an effective teacher has the greatest influence on an effective school. For this reason I consider Cooper's characteristics focused on effective teaching more important. I also believe that promoting effective teaching skills through effective professional development programs is essential to creating an effective school. Furthermore, I would not exclude the role of non-teachers in the school context, as they also contribute to the overall effectiveness of the school..