A new report highlights the benefits of high quality preschool and pre-kindergarten, suggesting it could cut the achievement gap by 20 percent, boost test scores and even improve behavior at school.

What is interesting about this report isn’t its research, which has appeared elsewhere, but where it ran: the National Association of Elementary School Principals website.

The location matters because if this nation is going to build better pre-k, and a more integrated  system of early education, principals not only have to buy into the idea, they have to lead, experts suggest.

If they do the benefits will be substantial, Ellen Frede and Steven Barnett, co-directors of the National Institute for Early Education Research (http://nieer.org), write.

Just how much could a commitment to quality preschool education do to improve U.S. test scores? The most effective programs might cut the achievement gap in primary and secondary education by half. Although that figure is probably too much to expect nationwide, even reducing the achievement gap between low-income and other students by 20 percent to 30 percent with this one reform would be a major accomplishment. – “Why Pre-K Is Critical to Closing the Achievement Gap.” Principal. May/June.

Then they give principals ten ways to build a better system. One of the more interesting ideas is to create professional development days not only for pre-k teachers but for those in early grades.

They don’t need to just know where the children are going but how to get them there and where they came from developmentally. This is especially true for the domains that often are inadequately taught in teacher education programs: math, science, early literacy, oral-language development, bilingual acquisition, and inclusion of children with disabilities.

The brief tackles one of the more pressing issues in early learning - the importance of principals in creating a better early learning system. It also shows those leaders where they need to go. It is worth checking out.