This past Tuesday District 16 educators were back in the classroom in the role of learners in a collaborative setting as they participated in their first professional development sessions for the new school year. The elaborately planned day included a panel discussion presentation by teachers and students that highlighted recent large scale, project-based, collaborative learning experiences from five of the district schools. The intention of the session was to give district 16 educators further insight into how authentic projects can be accomplished, ones that are considered to be fundamental to children’s learning for the 21st century.  More than 60 divided sessions were then available for teachers to choose to attend for the remainder of the day. All of the sessions were centered on developing and sharing best practices for engaging students in the learning process. The expertise shared throughout the day’s program was provided by accomplished local District 16 educators.