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This fall, Gov. Mary Fallin upped the stakes for public education in Oklahoma. As part of the national Complete College America initiative, she vowed to increase the number of Oklahoma students earning college degrees by 67 percent over the next 12 years.

I applaud Fallin's commitment to raising college completion among Oklahoma's youth. It's a crucial goal. As co-founders of KIPP — the Knowledge Is Power Program — Dave Levin and I have spent the better part of 20 years trying to make college an achievable reality for some of the country's most underserved students. Today, 109 KIPP schools in 20 states, including KIPP Reach College Prep in Oklahoma City, serve more than 32,000 students, 85 percent of whom are from low-income families.

According to U.S. Census data, only 30 percent of Americans aged 25-29 have earned a college degree. For students living in poverty, only 8 percent complete college by their mid-20s. This means that far too many young people are being locked out of the life opportunities that come with a college degree simply because of where they were born.

Of the KIPP students who finished eighth grade 10 or more years ago, 33 percent have graduated from a four-year college or university and another 5 percent have completed an associate's degree. Even though KIPP's college completion rate is above the national average, and four times the rate for students from low-income communities, we're not satisfied. We want our KIPPsters to finish college at the same rate as students from America's most affluent backgrounds. That rate is at least 75 percent.

KIPP is well on the way to that goal in Oklahoma. KIPP Reach College Prep has served students in northeast Oklahoma City since 2002. The school's founder, Tracy McDaniel, and his team have worked tirelessly for almost a decade to give underserved students a high-quality, college-prep education.

Their efforts are paying off. KIPP Reach has seen 79 former students graduate from high school. Nearly three-quarters of these students are now enrolled in college. That's great news for public schools across the state because it means we now have a sense of what a great college-prep education for underserved students can be.

Schools like KIPP Reach are helping fulfill an important part of Fallin's challenge: giving students the preparation they need to succeed in college and beyond. But increasing the number of college grads in Oklahoma will require even more. All members of the educational community — educators, administrators, public officials and deans of higher learning — will need to pitch in to make sure more and more students aren't just getting to college, but staying through graduation day.

Solving the problem of college graduation will take hard work and creativity. But with a firm belief in the potential that all students can and will learn, Fallin's goal can become a reality.

Feinberg, superintendent of KIPP Houston, created the KIPP concept with Levin in 1994. He was in Oklahoma City recently to celebrate KIPP Reach College Prep's 10th anniversary.