Where Theory Meets Practice
The Texas A&M Children’s Centers continue to provide a comprehensive, high-impact learning environment that engages more than 800 students annually across academic, research, and co-curricular domains. As enrollment in Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS) grows, the Centers are well positioned to expand their role as a premier experiential learning site that advances the university’s mission of transformational education, community enrichment, and innovation. Student engagement is intentionally structured across five tiers, ranging from degree-required practica and internships to advanced research collaborations, capstone and cornerstone course projects, student employment, and partnerships with student organizations. Together, these tiers create a continuum of hands-on learning experiences that foster academic excellence, professional identity development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and applied research.
Dr. Erica Ritter
Texas A&M Children’s Centers
Executive Director
Texas A&M Children’s Centers
Executive Director
Serving as living laboratories, the Children’s Centers promote interdisciplinary creativity, applied problem-solving, and the integration of theory and practice. Notable initiatives—such as the nature-based playground design conceptualized by undergraduate landscape architecture students and further refined by graduate students—demonstrate the Centers’ capacity to support innovative, real-world learning experiences that benefit both children and university students.
Through this work, the Children’s Centers advance the strategic pillars of Texas A&M University by cultivating community, enabling transformational education, promoting discovery and innovation, and contributing to local, state, national, and global impact. The Centers remain uniquely positioned to expand their reach and significance as a cornerstone of experiential learning.
We are especially excited to welcome our first cohort of practicum students majoring in EC–3 this semester. Be sure to check out the student spotlights to learn more about the future educators gaining hands-on experience in our classrooms.