Through its signature initiative, Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP), the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is promoting a vision for learning that begins in school: Starting in School . . . Rigorous and rich curriculum focused on the essential learning outcomes; comprehensive, individualized, and learning-centered advising; participation in service learning and civic engagement activities; and substantive culminating projects assessed for achievement of essential learning outcomes. The LEAP initiative is devoted to the well-being of colleges and universities--but not in isolation. It also advances a fundamentally democratic vision for school-to-college alignment. The concept is grounded in the belief that all students--no matter their socioeconomic position, no matter their race or ethnicity, no matter what grounds for difference--should benefit from the best that a liberal education can provide. The future well-being of democracy demands no less. Now, a period of crisis in public education, is a critical time to renew and develop that commitment--not despite the crisis, but through and because of it. As funding for public education declines and the need for higher-quality learning makes ever stronger claims on its attention, AAC&U sees renewed investment in P16 (pre-kindergarten through college alignment) as a matter of urgency. Amid the rush to increase productivity--outputs such as numbers of degrees and certificates--AAC&U knows it must provide robust leadership for high-quality learning for everyone. As the learning outcomes movement continues to gain strength in postsecondary education, it is high time to think again about continuity and collaboration with schools. (Contains 2 figures and 4 notes.)