The Perry Child Development Center (PCDC) hosted ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Tuesday to celebrate the launch of the Daisy Program, their new resource for 1- and 2-year-olds.
The new Daisy Room takes its place alongside the Tadpoles Room for 2- and 3-year-olds and the Butterfly Room for 3- and 4-year-olds. The school-age children, ages 5 to 10, occupy the large classroom.
Now in its 54th year, the PCDC operates under the leadership of Director Kim Bonjour-Eiteman and 10 staff members. The facility, located at 920 18th St., is licensed for 77 youngsters.
Joining Bonjour-Eiteman for the ribbon cutting were Carolyn McNeill of Perry, a longtime member of the PCDC Board of Directors, and fellow PCDC Board member and Dallas County Hospital Financial Controller Bryan Weringa and DCH CFO Kevin Leininger.
Also helping to cut the ribbon were Perry Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lynsi Pasutti, Chamber Board members Larry Vodenik, Misty Stout VonBehren, Chamber members Kayla Rothmeyer and Laura Pieper and PCDC staff members Silke Moore, Jessi Saenz, Laurie England and Sharisse Hernandez.
Tuesday’s open house featured free games, literacy kits, a bouncy house and a cookie truck, with facility tours for the adults. Fall enrollment is now open.
The PCDC earned full accreditation again in 2024 from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) as well as a Level 4 rating from the Iowa Quality for Kids (IQ4K) program, a new quality rating and improvement system of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
“The Perry Child Development Center has been providing a caring and rich learning environment since 1971,” said Bonjour-Eiteman. “We serve the Perry community by providing high-quality child care for ages 1 through 9 years of age. Congratulations to PCDC for reaching Accreditation status again!”
The PCDC is currently the only child-care center in Perry that has achieved NAEYC-quality status. It is also the only center in Dallas County to earn IQ4K Level 4 status, which rates licensed child care centers and preschools, registered child development homes and programs operating under the authority of an accredited school district or nonpublic school.
