This article discusses how school districts in California collaborate with higher education to boost college readiness and access. In Long Beach, educators from all three major institutions of learning--elementary, middle and high schools, the local university and the community college--worked together to align standards and expectations across education levels. Based on their reading of students' written work from elementary to college freshman levels, the faculty members agreed to changes in how and what they taught, assessed each other's students and engaged in ongoing cross-level professional development. Collaboration became standard practice because the district's assistant superintendent, the dean of the college of education at the university and the partnership director provided time and opportunities for faculty to work together. The three education institutions evolved into a cohesive system in their community. The Long Beach collaboration, involving a 90,000-student school district, a 35,000-student state university and a two-campus community college serving 28,000 students, shares a vision for college access and readiness for all students. It also illustrates the importance of committed, responsible members. At its inception, the collaboration's active members included the superintendent, Carl Cohn; the community college president, Jan Kehoe; and the university president, Robert Maxson; as well as teachers and staff from the school district, community college and university. The partners discovered their own institutional goals and solutions intersected with one another's. Improved instruction in preK-12 classrooms demanded better-prepared teachers by the university. Curriculum alignment led to development of end-of-course exams across the school district. College and university faculty now believe in the fidelity of a high school course. Despite a change in leadership at all three institutions, the College Promise was signed by the three institutions in 2008, offering opportunities for college study to every student in the Long Beach district, including guaranteed college admission to qualified applicants, scholarships, strengthened career and technical pathways, and better advising at all three education levels.