Guilford County students will be the first in the south to benefit from the Say Yes to Education campaign.
The news came during an event Thursday morning attended by local and national Say Yes representatives.
Guilford County Schools beat out about two dozen others competing to win the Say Yes designation. The program originates from a New York-based nonprofit that partners with communities to help more kids get into and pay for college.
The announcement means that, beginning in 2016, Guilford high school seniors will be able to take advantage of scholarships that bridge the gap between what they can pay and the actual cost of tuition at public universities statewide. Several private universities have also signed on.
As part of the Thursday announcement, officials also noted new investment in the Guilford Say Yes initiative.
Local leaders needed to raise $28 million in private donations to qualify for the program. They’ve raised more than $32 million so far, with the latest pledge for $500,000 coming from HondaJet.