The Key to the American Dream: Preface’s Mission to Combat Childhood Illiteracy

“Educational opportunity is the cornerstone for movement and mobility.”

This statement is the cornerstone for JT Wu and Preface, a nonprofit combatting childhood illiteracy. JT’s passion for ensuring Gwinnett County children receive a solid academic foundation drove him to found Preface so he could give back to the community that shaped him. 

JT grew up in Gwinnett County to immigrant parents committed to ensuring their son received the education he needed to pursue his American dream. 

“My mom is Filipino-Chinese and my dad’s Malaysian-Chinese and they, like so many, came to the U.S. in search of a good education and better lives,” JT said. “Growing up in Gwinnett was amazing. It was such a great community where it felt like everybody was looking out for each other. Everybody had each other’s backs.”

After leaving Georgia to pursue a degree at Princeton, JT returned home in 2018. 

“I found a Gwinnett that was very much still the Gwinnett that I loved and knew, but it had changed in some really significant ways. We became an incredibly diverse place,” he explained, “but many young kids were growing up in homes where English wasn’t spoken.”

The result? “Over half of our kids in the county, and nearly two-thirds in the state of Georgia, were struggling to read English proficiently by the third grade,” JT said.

Recognizing the struggle of these children inspired what JT calls the “genesis” of Preface.

“We designed a system together with expert educators, endorsed by the Georgia Department of Education as a high-impact tutoring program,” he said. “We partner with the Gwinnett County Public School System  and other schools and systems across America that trains and recruits high school students to become reading Ambassadors in their own communities.”

These high school students, who are often fluent in both English and their native language, are uniquely equipped to assist younger children struggling with reading comprehension. 

“You have a trained high school student who has that lived experience and is familiar with both languages who can then help [younger students] bridge those comprehension gaps,” JT explained.

The Ambassadors then partner with elementary school students and support improved literacy skills in the classroom. 

Since its inception in 2019, Preface has expanded into 15 states. 

“Our model is one that really tailors local solutions to meet local needs,” JT said. “We recruit from within communities, and then we’re able not only to have those students and their local community network but also act as a national network.

“Having Gwinnett County students mentor Gwinnett County students within their own cluster is fantastic. It’s also fantastic when Gwinnett County students want to continue serving, and they can go work with and read with students across the country who share similar linguistic or demographic characteristics.”

Preface has also expanded its philanthropy from ambassador programs to encouraging literacy through book donations. “In every elementary school we partner with, we have a Legacy Gift program, supported by generous donations.”

The program donates a library of 150 to 200 children’s books to each elementary school and ensures the literature reflects the culture and lived experiences of the school’s demographics.

JT hopes the library solidifies the ambassadors’ work in each school. “We want to create a legacy of learning that ideally will go on past just that school year,” he said.

Preface’s initiatives have not only spread across the U.S. but also have gained recognition from state, local  and federal governments for its efforts. 

“We were honored last year to receive bipartisan resolutions from the [Georgia] state house, the state senate and the governor’s office for the early childhood literacy work that we’re doing across the state.”

JT credits the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia as an integral part of Preface’s growth.

“The Community Foundation has been there for us from day one. As we continue to deepen relationships across the country, the Community Foundation is incredible about making introductions,” he shared. “We did not invent mentorship. We did not invent early childhood literacy solutions. But we’re trying to be another piece of the puzzle. We need a thousand more organizations that are doing work like this to address the rising tide of childhood illiteracy in this country. The Community Foundation is doing a great job of bringing folks together.”

For community members looking to get involved, JT welcomes them to partner with Preface with volunteer opportunities available for corporations, students and parents alike. 

“Everybody should be able to get behind making sure that our next generation has the literacy skills that they need to be successful and to achieve in life,” he said.

“We want to make sure the next generation has those same opportunities to live and thrive and achieve their own American dreams.”
Join the fight against childhood illiteracy today!