SPRINGFIELD -- Children really need more than their backpacks and their school supplies on the first day of kindergarten. They need to be ready physically, socially, emotionally and mentally. A study by the Springfield Mayor’s Commission for Children says many students simply are not.

The commission studied 780 incoming kindergartners in Ash Grove, Branson Logan-Rogersville, Ozark, Nixa, Republic, Springfield, Strafford and Willard school districts. It found 20 percent of them won’t arrive at school ready to learn.

At just 2 years old, Ian already knows what it's like to curl up to a good book. His mom brings him to things like story time at the Library Center.

“I love the interaction with kids and letting him read the books,” said his mother, Amy Pearce.

Already, she says, reading has made a difference in his life.

“He's got pretty good verbal skills and I think partly from reading,” she said.

But not every child getting ready to enter kindergarten is learning the same skills. The study by the Mayor’s Commission found 20 percent of kids aren't ready for school -- not just mentally but also socially.

“Every year, we have very smart kids coming into kindergarten but, because of their behavior, it impedes their learning and the learning of others,” said Pam Hedgpeth, superintendent of the Republic School District.

The study suggests Springfield and surrounding communities create more preschool opportunities to prepare kids academically and emotionally for school. It says kids who aren't ready for kindergarten have a better chance of not doing well in school and, in the long run, are more likely to end up in jail.

“There are predictors; some states predict how many prisons they need to build in 15 years based on the number of kids who aren't reading at grade level by the third grade,” said Springfield Mayor Tom Carlson.

Carlson and the others involved in this study hope its results will spur the community to take action -- so every child's story has a happy ending.

The study also suggested some things that parents can do beyond basics -- like reading to children and teaching them ABCs, shapes, colors, and numbers. Researchers say it's also important to have children ready emotionally by setting rules and enforcing them, talking with them and listening to them every day, giving them opportunities to interact with other children, and helping them learn to do things by themselves.