Texas A&M University-San Antonio is helping to improve child care on the Southside by opening the first Educare center in Texas in summer 2026.
The goal of Educare San Antonio is to strengthen the early child care ecosystem in Bexar County. The facility will provide affordable child care and education to approximately 200 children from birth to 6 years old, train professionals and conduct research to support local child care centers.
Educare is a national initiative that has established 25 early childhood schools across the country in communities ranging from urban to rural.
The decision to locate the building on the Southside was important, said Dr. Melissa Jozwiak, professor of early childhood at A&M-San Antonio, who was largely involved with the project.
It was a long process that took the funding of A&M-San Antonio, the Texas A&M University system and the City of San Antonio, as well as the collaboration of partners like Pre-K 4 SA.
Much of Jozwiak’s time was spent talking with city council, meeting with potential donors and helping people in the community understand “how critical having a university laboratory school is to a really strong early childhood system.”
“It really was a strategic placement in a community where there was a great need, and those child care slots are going to make a huge impact for those families that are able to enroll their child,” Jozwiak said at a groundbreaking ceremony April 1 at the university.
“What we also hope it will do is change the landscape by inspiring other people to consider establishing high-quality child care or if they have child care in the area, look at what they want to do differently – what changes do they want to make.”
The Southside is considered a child care desert. Kim Kofron is the director of early childhood education for Children at Risk, a Texas nonprofit that addresses child poverty and inequality, and she describes a child care desert as a ZIP code where “there’s three times the number of children than there are child care seats.”
This means that there is much less opportunity and fewer resources for children to receive child care and early childhood education in these areas. Since 2017, Children at Risk has been producing a child care desert map, which is “an interactive tool to explore the local availability of child care across the state of Texas.”
Kofron has seen firsthand the impact that early child care can have on children and families.
“When parents have to go to work, that’s when we want to make sure that there’s somewhere safe and high quality for their child,” Kofron said. “We know that when Mom and Dad don’t have to leave the workforce to take care of their child, their trajectory of economic stability for their family is much greater.”
Alyssa Garcia is an interdisciplinary studies senior and a student worker for Dr. Emma Savage Davis, the dean of the College of Education and Human Development. Garcia was asked to attend the groundbreaking in support of the new building.
Garcia is a student parent and first-generation student. She said her mother was unable to continue community college because of the lack of child care, so she understands how significant this building will be.
“I really believe in the nurture and nature aspect, so having that nurture at home but also having it in your community and seeing that your community is backing that up with a full facility – I’m just so in awe of everything that our university is doing for its people and doing for its students,“ Garcia said.
Garcia’s children are enrolled in Young Jaguars, an afterschool program that became fully operational in January 2024. It is another example of A&M-San Antonio’s commitment to improving child care in San Antonio.
Garcia said she is glad to be at a university that is dedicated to child care, recognizes her potential and shows how her children are not something that limits her, but something that motivates and drives her.
City, county and Texas A&M University System officials attended the groundbreaking ceremony and spoke about the project.
“We are here because early childhood education is the foundation upon which the future of the success of our children is built upon,” said District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran. “This groundbreaking represents a commitment to shaping the future of our children and investing in their potential, ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed, not just in school, but in life.”
For more information about Educare San Antonio and Children at Risk, visit Educare San Antonio Initiative and childrenatrisk.org.
