At a recent commencement ceremony in Redwood City, I looked out at the eager young graduates in bright blue caps and gowns and knew they were ready for the next big step this fall — kindergarten.

New reports that confirm the importance of building early reading and math skills when children's brains are rapidly developing highlight San Mateo County's model high-quality preschool program.

As I told the preschool graduates' proud parents, their children will be off to a good start in kindergarten because they know how to share, get along with other children and pay attention in class. They'll also have early reading and math skills.

Unfortunately, new research from the RAND Corp. shows that not all children are as fortunate. RAND found that just one in four preschool-age children in California is in a program that equals or exceeds a nationally recognized high-quality program shown to improve school readiness.

The statistics are even more discouraging for children who could benefit most — Latinos, African-Americans, those from economically disadvantaged families, and those whose parents have little education. At best, 15 percent of these children are in high-quality preschool programs that prepare them for success in K-12.

Without that strong start, it is hard for children to catch up in later grades, and so the same groups of children that start out behind tend to stay behind. The achievement gap begins before kids even enter kindergarten.

Another recent study of school readiness in San Mateo County illustrates just how important it is for children to have the strong foundation that high-quality preschool provides. The report found that skills such as letter recognition and engagement with books are associated with children's academic track records in third grade.

Children who were proficient in those early learning skills upon entering kindergarten, and who were curious, eager to learn and expressed their needs, displayed an extra boost in test scores four years later.

The good news for San Mateo County — and the rest of the state — is that we have a local model of how to provide the kind of high-quality preschool that gets children ready to learn and succeed in school.

Over the past four years, our Preschool for All program has provided free, voluntary high-quality preschool to more than 2,350 3- and 4-year-olds in the Redwood City and Ravenswood school districts. It is funded by First 5 San Mateo County and administered by the San Mateo County Office of Education.

According to classroom observations and evaluations, our program exceeds the quality of a nationally recognized program that has been shown to improve school readiness. Quality features in these classrooms include well-trained, educated teachers; a curriculum to guide learning; rich and engaging classroom environments; strong family involvement and regular evaluations resulting in continuous quality improvement.

Programs receive more funding as they achieve higher quality. A similar funding model is part of Senate Bill 1629, proposed state legislation that would develop a framework for improving the quality of preschool programs throughout the state.

I hope the commencement ceremony I participated in is the first of many graduations for those 4-year-olds. High-quality preschool programs like the one in Redwood City can help us close the achievement gap and ensure that all of our children are prepared to succeed in school and in life.

Jean Holbrook, Ed.D. is the San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools.