J.R. Gonzales, president and CEO of JRG Communications and past president and past chairman of the board of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has always supported better educational opportunities and achievement for Hispanic children and all children because, he says, “I believe that education is the cornerstone of any society.” His work specifically in support of pre-k, however, came a bit later. “As I worked with Hispanic youth – adolescents – over the years, I realized that we needed to go back even further. I’ve seen the stats: 85 percent of cognitive skills are developed by age five; so it made sense, let’s reach back.”

Mr. Gonzales is quick to point to the relative youth of the Hispanic community and it’s fast growth as key reasons he believes early education is essential for the success of Latino children. “Over the next 35 years, one in four Americans will be Hispanic with an average age 10 years younger than the U.S. average. Among Hispanics, the current high school dropout rate is 24 percent nationally and many communities are seeing rates above 50 percent. That’s scary. High school intervention efforts are important, but we need to get the process started at an early age.

As a business professional, Mr. Gonzales says he always looks at both the grasstops and the grassroots when trying to get his message out. The message for the grassroots is a personal and informational one. “Within the general Latino community,” says Mr. Gonzales, “the work is more to educate parents about what’s available and how those opportunities can be important for them and their children.”

When dealing with Hispanic business leaders, however, Mr. Gonzales says he begins with the simple business model: “Where’s the return on investment? The money spent on criminal justice, welfare and social services is astronomical; so it’s more fiscally effective to educate. That’s true of education in general and pre-k in particular.” 

Pre-k is also about workforce development and entrepreneurship. “Our school systems are producing graduates,” he says. “The question is, ‘how prepared is that grad to enter the job market?’” And for the Hispanic business community specifically, it’s about more than just having a high-quality workforce.  “The rapid population growth makes it the market of the future for business, not only to fill jobs but also to make sure that our children are prepared to become business leaders themselves.”

Yet, over the long term, Mr. Gonzales says there’s more at stake. “People need to understand that we’re no longer competing amongst ourselves. This truly is a global market and economy. India, China, and other countries are putting a lot of effort into preparing their populations and if we don’t start doing the same, our economy, our education system and our children are at risk of being left behind.”  

To get his message out, Mr. Gonzales has focused on engaging Hispanic chambers of commerce in four states: California, Florida, New York, and Texas. He encourages them to support pre-k in their states and communities through both formal resolutions and outreach to policymakers on behalf of policies that can improve educational opportunities and outcomes for young Latinos. He also speaks frequently to Hispanic business groups to recruit others in the community to become pre-k advocates in their local communities. “Local business leaders can be much more persuasive than someone from out of state or from TV or radio because they have the ear of both policymakers and the public.”

For the future, Mr. Gonzales has high hopes for pre-k. “In a perfect world,” he says, “I’d like to see every state offer free pre-k to its citizens. In the meanwhile, as more and more states are coming on board with offering pre-k as part of public education, it’s important that parents, educators, business leaders, and especially policymakers understand the importance of a pre-k education, and that’s the work I’m committed to.