In 1916 Father James Bernard Praught opened Saint Joseph Elementary School for the boys and girls of the parish. In 1922 a new co-ed grammar school was donated to the parish by Theresa Ettinger in memory of her husband, the late Victor Ettinger. When St. Joseph Elementary Grammar School was built, the original school buildings became part of the girls high school, the Academy was renamed Notre Dame High School, a combined boarding and day school. In 1960, Monsignor Alvin P. Wagner demolished the antiquated girls high school and built a new Saint Joseph's Notre Dame High School for girls. He erected the Gymnasium/Auditorium in 1964. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur stayed with the elementary and high schools until 1990.