In 1890, a public school opened at the corner of 103rd and Michigan and the church fathers in the area felt that a second school was needed to provide Christian educational opportunities for the area's Dutch-speaking residents. A commission was founded to explore options for another school. It was eventually built on 104th Street as a complement to the existing school several blocks away. Classes began on 5 October 1891 with 25 students in attendance. The two schools existed separately but remarkably close to each other. The 104th Street school was controlled by the parents of the students while the 111th Street school was controlled by the principal. The two resisted many attempts to amalgamate due to the curriculum, financial, and personnel issues involved. One thing that the schools did have in common was the Dutch Language. It was not until 1910 that the 111th Street school switched to an English language curriculum for every subject. The 104th Street school followed the next year. The schools survived separately through two world wars and the Great Depression before finally coming together in 1947.