Baldemar Huerta Since being named Child Development Center Director at First United Methodist Church on July 19th, Kingsville native Baldemar Huerta has already implemented many changes to the school that have been well received by the staff.

“There have been a couple changes already and the staff has reacted positively,” he said. “One of the first things I did was implement changes in the staff dress code and set a policy that all staff members are to wear name tags.”

Huerta graduated from Texas A&M University- Kingsville in 2006 with a degree in Early Childhood Education and credits his aunt for getting him into education.

“My aunt, who was a teacher, went to Texas A&I and encouraged me to attend as well,” Huerta said. “She raised me when I was younger and I think it was her influence as a teacher that led me to this career choice.”

Huerta said he has always been around children since he has a very large family.

“I am the third oldest out of eight siblings, I have 20 nieces and nephews and 13 great nieces and nephews so there are children all around me all the time,” he said.

He first got involved in child centers while in college when he did his observation at St. Gertrudes Catholic School.

“I got hired instantly as a part-time teacher’s aide and also started the Pre-K 3 program at the school because they did not have anyone to implement the program,” Huerta said.

Upon his graduation he was hired on full-time as a Pre-K 3 teacher in the morning and a computer lab/ art teacher in the afternoon.

“While at St. Gertrudes I got recruited to be the training coordinator for the Texas A&M University- Kingsville Marc Cisneros Center for Young Children where I was for another two years until taking my current position,” Huerta said.

He said he found out about his current position from an advertisement in the newspaper.

“I was happy at my previous job but I always wanted this type of position and decided to go for it,” Huerta said. “Once I was hired I did take a big cut in pay but for me it was not about that, it was about helping the teachers and children by creating a better model for the children to learn from.”

Huerta says being around the children is his favorite part of the job.

“I will go and read to the kids or give a lesson and help the teachers in any way I can, those are my favorite parts of the day,” he said. “The office part to me comes second, if I had a choice between helping teacher in a classroom or working in my office I will always put the teachers and children’s needs first.”

He says he wants to bring back positive reinforcement to the classrooms, which will provide a better overall environment for the children.

“I do not like the term ‘time out chair’, I call it the ‘thinking or quiet chair’ because it is not as negative as time out,” Huerta said. “We try to do it according to age, so if they are two years old then we do it for two minutes and so on.”

Huerta also created a conference room for his teachers and brought manuals from his home in order for the teachers to get creative ideas for teaching different subjects and creating better learning environments.

He is currently getting certified as a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) by Infant Massage USA, a program that teaches parents how to massage their child which will decrease stress for the baby, relieve discomfort from constipation, gas, and colic, help normalize muscle tone and improve blood circulation, help the baby sleep better, and stimulate brain development all while improving sensory awareness.

“I hope to teach this to parents as well as my teachers and we will be the only child center that has someone certified in Infant Massage in South Texas,” Huerta said.

He is a member of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TAEYC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), which are dedicated to improving the well being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age eight.

Huerta oversees 25 staff members, including 10 teachers with 7 student aides, and currently has an enrollment of 50 to 60 students with ages ranging from birth to five years old and they also have an after school day care until 6 p.m. for students up to age 11 who were in public school during the day.

“We are able to accommodate up to 170 children and have current openings in the 1 ½ and 2 year old age groups,” Huerta said. “The enrollment is open to the public and members of First United Methodist Church get a discount.”

Huerta said he is looking forward to the new school year and they already have many things planned.

“We are going to again have our annual pumpkin patch and fall carnival as well as a thanksgiving dinner and Christmas program,” he said. “For the first time in many years we will also be participating in the La Posada parade in December.”

Overall, Huerta said this job is a dream come true and he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“I’ve always wanted to be a child care center director or own my own child care center and I have a passion for teaching and educating children so I enjoy my job very much,” Huerta said. “I am down on the floor with the children, crawling around and am extremely hands on; seeing the children happy and learning is what this job is all about.”