This article examines a pilot project that engaged a university-based teacher educator as a collaborating partner within a local school district. The partnership was established to provide English to Speakers of Other Languages teachers with professional development in a school district with a growing English learner population. The process for developing this innovative collaboration and teacher perceptions of this work are analyzed, with a focus on the specific demands and opportunities resulting from Common Core State Standards implementation. In particular, how this university and district collaboration provided opportunities to grapple with meeting the instructional needs of English learners within the context of Common Core State Standards implementation and teacher perceptions of engaging with a university-based partner are illuminated. Implications for research and practice are discussed.