With the dedication of Perkins Early Childhood Center, Princeton ISD recognized the 40 years Trina Perkins served the district and its youngest students.

“Mrs. Trina Perkins, also known as Ms. Ladybug, has dedicated 40 years to education as a pillar of Princeton ISD, guiding, nurturing and inspiring creativity in the lives of our littlest learners,” Perkins principal Courtney Croy said at Sunday’s ceremony. “It’s only fitting that this building carries the name of someone whose career has been devoted to building bright beginnings for children.”

Trina’s husband, Danny, reminded everyone that his wife didn’t just spend 40 years teaching for PISD, she grew up in Princeton in the ‘60s and graduated from PHS in 1979 before attending Texas A&M University.

“Most of her life has been associated with Princeton, and she’s enjoyed being in Princeton,” he said of Ms. Ladybug, who retired from PISD in May. “For those responsible for naming this school and giving her this honor, just know she was all about caring for the kids.”

Perkins ECC marks the 16^th campus for the district and the 10th campus built in PISD since Smith Elementary opened in 2015.

It houses half of PISD’s pre-K program, as well as the second employee day care, Jaguar Cubs.

“We are grateful for Pogue Construction’s partnership in building this lasting foundation for learning,” Ms. Croy said. “Claycomb architects have created not just a building, but a space filled with warmth, light and possibility - a place where curiosity will thrive for decades to come.”

According to Ms. Croy, the pre-K building honors Mrs. Perkins, who has a passion for reading and sharing that love with her students, as well as for shaping hearts, building confidence and planting seeds of success.

“Today we’re celebrating the legacy of love, learning and leadership that defines Princeton ISD,” she said. “Thank you, Mrs. Perkins, for your 40 years of dedication and for the lives you’ve forever changed.”

No one understands that more than Mrs. Perkins’ daughter, Ashley Edwards, who spoke at the dedication ceremony, not only as her daughter, but as a former student.

“When I was in kindergarten, I was in foster care,” Ashley said. “I was a scared and broken child. The heartbreak I lived with every day of being the kid without a mommy and daddy, I carried as normal, it's all I knew.”

Although Ashley didn’t know at the time, Mrs. Ladybug also carried around her own heartbreak.

“(She carried) the grief of a heart that longed for a child but the unfortunate circumstances of thinking the Lord would only give her students to love,” she said.

Ashley emphasized their stories collided in the little kindergarten circle of Princeton Elementary (now Lacy), “where a woman who always dreamed of being a mother and a child that so desperately longed for a home of her own, where by only the grace of God the two were brought together in the most perfect time.”

Their story further unfolded when Mrs. Ladybug invited her husband to field day.

“She wanted him to meet the little girl who had stolen her heart, so he came to field day as a volunteer,” Ashley said. “But we all know he came just to meet me - a little girl he didn't know yet, but who would soon call him Dad. That was the day my forever was going to change. Mom didn't just change my life the day she decided to adopt me, she saved it.

“She took a broken, scared little girl and loved her back to life,” Ashley said. “She taught me what a mother's love looks like - the same passion she always brought to her classroom, that every child deserves love. I was just the lucky one who got to keep her forever.”