This presentation will have students and teachers discussing our first four years of academy project based "challenges", with process pictures;a discussion of teamwork and collaboration will have students/staff perspectives and how to get started on your academy challenge.The students will talk about the actual challenges, involving all academy students. The teachers will discuss how working with at-risk students and a less than enthusiastic staff makes for additional challenges in and out of the classroom environment. Academies will have time to start to formulate their own challenges and to ask questions about failures and solutions.