В Центре раннего развития колледжа Central Texas открыли современную кухню и установили систему видеонаблюдения

Central Texas College student Heaven Garcia, left, assists Savannah Moon during mealtime at the CTC Child Development Center. Garcia, who is pursuing an associate degree in education and paraprofessional certification, gains hands-on classroom experience while children enjoy nutritious meals prepared in the center’s newly modernized kitchen. Central Texas College Child Development Center Director Janeen Garza, left, reviews footage from the center’s new security camera system with Centex Systems installer Derek Pausewang. The enhanced security upgrades help provide a safer environment for children, families, students, faculty and staff. Central Texas College student Heaven Garcia, left, assists Savannah Moon during mealtime at the CTC Child Development Center. Garcia, who is pursuing an associate degree in education and paraprofessional certification, gains hands-on classroom experience while children enjoy nutritious meals prepared in the center’s newly modernized kitchen. Courtesy photo | CTC Central Texas College Child Development Center Director Janeen Garza, left, reviews footage from the center’s new security camera system with Centex Systems installer Derek Pausewang. The enhanced security upgrades help provide a safer environment for children, families, students, faculty and staff. The Central Texas College Child Development Center is beginning the fall semester with significant upgrades designed to enhance safety, nutrition and learning opportunities for children, families and students. The CDC serves a dual purpose as both a nurturing early childhood education center and a hands-on training environment where Central Texas College students gain practical experience in child development, classroom management and creating engaging learning environments. As a laboratory school, the center helps prepare the next generation of early childhood educators and child care professionals while providing high-quality care and education for young learners. The center also serves students in psychology, culinary arts, nursing, and other Child Development degree-seeking programs from other colleges and universities outside of CTC. This year, the CDC has strengthened its commitment to safety with the installation of a new security system and upgraded camera network throughout the facility. The enhanced system provides additional monitoring capabilities and helps create an even safer environment for children, families, students, faculty and staff. “The addition of our new camera system represents an important investment in the safety and well-being of everyone who enters the Child Development Center,” said Maria Royster, Education Department chairman and professor. “These upgrades provide an added layer of security and peace of mind for families while supporting a safe, welcoming learning environment where children can thrive and our future educators can gain valuable hands-on experience.” Another major improvement this year is the reopening of the CDC kitchen following extensive modernization. The upgraded kitchen now features energy-efficient Whirlpool dishwashers, a large commercial refrigerator and freezer, and a high-capacity milk dispenser. These enhancements support the preparation and service of fresh, nutritious meals for children enrolled at the center. The kitchen also supports the CDC’s family-style dining approach, which encourages children to build independence, confidence and social skills as they share meals together and explore new foods. Parent Leticia Togba has seen those benefits firsthand. She enrolled her daughter, Emma, at the CDC when she was 3 years old. Now entering kindergarten, Emma leaves the center with new skills and experiences. “One of the main benefits of the CTC CDC’s kitchen being reopened is that it allows my daughter to try new foods in an environment where she is surrounded by other children and adults that she knows and loves,” Togba said. “I feel like watching her friends eat foods she might not try at home encourages her to be brave and try something new.” Togba said the CDC also played a key role in her daughter’s development. “When she arrived at daycare, she was very shy and not talking much,” she said. “Now she’s blossomed in so many ways. We will miss the CTC CDC now that Emma has started kindergarten.” As the new academic year begins, the CDC continues its mission of supporting children’s growth while helping CTC students gain meaningful real-world experience in early childhood education. A woman thought that rocks had broken her window but it turned out to be from one of the bullets fired by an ex-partner toward her house in Harker Heights. A Killeen man who admitted to the shooting was sentenced recently to a term of probation. Two unrelated traffic stops in Killeen earlier this year led to two people facing two to 20 years in prison after police said they found methamphetamine and cocaine. Sixteen Killeen law enforcement cadets, including a new fire marshal, graduated Friday at a ceremony in the Killeen Civic and Conference Center, where the graduates were reminded of their responsibilities to the community from Killeen Police Department officials. 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