An extensive partnership to increase the number of students prepared for college and eligible to attend four-year universities was announced Wednesday by the Elk Grove Unified School District and UC Davis. In a five-year agreement signed this week, campus and district leaders agreed to work with students, parents and teachers to increase the number of Elk Grove Unified graduates enrolled in the University of California. The agreement outlines immediate district goals, including placing 160 students -- 6 percent of the Class of 2000 -- in UC campuses next fall and increasing that number by 6 percent a year. "Sending more students to four-year colleges is a priority for our Board of Education, and we applaud Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and UC Davis for reaching out to our school district," said David Gordon, superintendent for the Elk Grove Unified School District. "Young people today need ever higher levels of skills to earn a good living, and a University of California education will prepare them for success in the future." The memorandum of understanding with UC Davis also fulfills a board goal of providing college information to students and parents in elementary school. The university's Reservation for College program will be piloted in the Valley High School region, starting with all of the fourth graders at Herman Leimbach, Charles Mack, John Reith, Prairie and Union House elementary schools. The program provides a grade-level college preparation curriculum for students and their parents in fourth through 12th grades. The agreement will also expand the existing partnership with UC Davis' Early Academic Outreach Program to help more students learn the academic expectations of the University of California and how to enroll. The agreement will increase the coordination between the district and university on college expectations. Students from UC Davis will also visit all secondary schools in the Elk Grove district to work with students on planning for college. The district and UC Davis will share in the costs for a full-time liaison to coordinate the partnership efforts. "We are pleased to add Elk Grove Unified schools to our growing number of partnership programs, and are enthusiastic that we can play a role in helping to prepare a more highly educated workforce in the state's fastest growing region," Vanderhoef said. "Our collaboration will complement excellent college preparatory work already under said way in Elk Grove, and we look forward to seeing even more of their students attending UC Davis." Elk Grove Unified entered a partnership agreement with California State University, Sacramento, two years ago. With a 62 percent increase in the number of graduates enrolling at CSUS over two years, the program demonstrated the benefits of partnering with a university. The public school district is one of the largest and fastest growing in the state, with 45,000 students. The Elk Grove partnership expands UC Davis' efforts to support and work closely with teachers, counselors, school administrators and families, and particularly to focus on developing high-achieving schools in communities with historically low college attendance. With state funding assistance and in conjunction with the priorities of the Legislature, the campus is working on similar agreements with districts throughout the region, from San Joaquin to Yuba counties. School/university partnerships are an addition to UC Davis programs that have been working to improve college preparation in the public schools for more than three decades.