“Collaboration with colleagues is an essential component to my participation due to the challenge of being small, isolated, and rural. It takes me out of my comfort zone and challenges me to be the best leader I can be for my children and staff.” — Superintendent of a small, rural school district This reflection came after two years of working with superintendents, district staff, and teachers in a professional learning experience designed for rural school districts. The Rural Schools Network, led by the Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute (now the Welty Center) at Fresno State in California, is more than a network or a series of meetings for superintendents. It is an authentic professional learning community.  An authentic professional learning community has certain attributes, including structural conditions,