The Dayton metropolitan region -- which includes Greene, Miami, Montgomery, and Preble counties -- and its 840,000 residents could enjoy a big economic boost by increasing its college completion rate by 1% point. With the participation of local colleges and universities, the Southwest Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) is leading the effort with a program called Learn to Earn Dayton, which takes a long view on how to build a creative economy in the area. The program's cradle-to-career initiative seeks to increase college graduation rates by focusing on student achievement through all of the phases of a young person's education, starting before kindergarten and leading all the way through college.