{"id":175551,"date":"2026-01-07T19:28:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/new-cybersecurity-program-creates-pathways-for-central-texas-students\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T06:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:15:09","slug":"new-cybersecurity-program-creates-pathways-for-central-texas-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/new-cybersecurity-program-creates-pathways-for-central-texas-students\/","title":{"rendered":"New cybersecurity program creates pathways for Central Texas students"},"content":{"rendered":"

New cybersecurity program creates pathways for Central Texas students<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.kwtx.com\/2026\/01\/08\/new-cybersecurity-program-creates-pathways-central-texas-students\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-01-07 19:28:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.kwtx.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Students at eight Central Texas school districts will soon have the opportunity to take cybersecurity classes thanks to a new program led by Baylor University in partnership with the Central Texas Cyber Hub.The K-12 Cybersecurity Pathways Program will begin with ninth-grade students in fall 2026, offering a four-year curriculum designed to prepare students for careers in cybersecurity.\u201cCybersecurity is definitely one of those industries this is going to take off in the future,\u201d said Travis Mutscher, McGregor ISD superintendent.Program addresses industry needMcGregor ISD was one of the eight districts chosen to launch the program, Mutscher adding that currently there isn\u2019t really any opportunities for students to learn about cybersecurity before college.\u201cAbout a year ago I was approached about a cybersecurity program,\u201d he explained, \u201cIt\u2019s a collaborative with Baylor called the cyber hub.\u201d The hub includes Baylor University, local industry partners, Region 12, McLennan Community College, and Central Texas College.Jeremy McCormick, a program director and instructor at MCC, say the collaboration created something unique.\u201cWe don\u2019t know any anyone else in the nation that is doing this right now, and what we\u2019re doing is setting up cybersecurity academies across mostly rural schools,\u201d McCormick said.Student interest already evidentJennifer Millsap, the academic advisor at McGregor High School, says students have already shown an interest in cybersecurity.\u201cEvery year we have students that are interested in coding and things like that,\u201d Millsap said, \u201cthey want to get into cybersecurity but they don\u2019t know where to start, and so I think by adding this they\u2019ll have the opportunity to get started.\u201dThe four-year program helps students earn industry-recognized certifications that opens doors to both entry-level jobs and higher education. Jeffery Thompson, a computer science professor at Central Texas College, says this also addresses a significant workforce shortage.\u201cThere are thousands of roles that currently go unfilled within cybersecurity. We have to be able to generate more qualified individuals that can step in and begin to fill these roles,\u201d Thompson said.Future expansion plannedProgram leaders plan to gradually expand the initiative to more districts in the area and additional grade levels.\u201cWe hope to eventually fill in the rest of the K-8,\u201d McCormick said, \u201cfor instance, go to elementary STEM career fairs and talk about cybersecurity, prepare those students to move forward in, get them excited about getting to high school where they can start\u201d.Copyright 2026 KWTX. All rights reserved.
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New cybersecurity program creates pathways for Central Texas students https:\/\/www.kwtx.com\/2026\/01\/08\/new-cybersecurity-program-creates-pathways-central-texas-students\/ Publish Date: 2026-01-07 19:28:00 Source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":175552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/gray-kwtx-prod.gtv-cdn.com\/resizer\/v2\/BESYSET6JNFHRGAK7NADJR44ZY.JPG?auth=7ef67ccdf17d0be113c6e2ba68c0a38f1e37a944dfffefc9c0cfbdcdc6d80863&width=1200&height=600&smart=true","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-175551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175553,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175551\/revisions\/175553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}