As an eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School in Nashville, Tennessee, Olivia Contreras had arrived in the United States from her native Nicaragua the previous year. But Olivia learned English so quickly that she was placed in mainstream content classes the following year. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 created a lot of stories like Olivia's--stories that include big steps forward and big steps back. NCLB placed a new focus and accountability on the achievement levels of English learners by requiring that they develop English proficiency and meet the same academic standards that all children are expected to meet by the year 2014. This article discusses how teacher collaboration may help such students stay afloat.