Education leaders in Chico came together to sign the Butte County Promise Thursday.

The Butte County Promise is a program to give all students the opportunity to further their education after graduating high school, by increasing the collaboration of Chico’s education leaders to align educational programs with employers’ needs.

The promise is hoped to increase collaboration between high school teachers and college professors in order to prepare students for college and push the expectation that students should further their education after graduating high school.

The promise was signed by President Gayle Hutchinson and Butte College President Samia Yaqub, along with nearly every superintendent in Butte County.

“I’m very excited about the Chico Promise,” Chico Unified Superintendent Kelly Staley said. “I believe it will make college a reality for students who currently see it as unattainable.”

“I believe our local students will see the value and the number of local students to enroll at both Butte and CSUC will increase steadily the more we are able to collaborate and align services for students,” Staley added.

Joey Nicholl can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.