School
History
In September, 1869, two Sisters of the Congregation of
Divine Providence arrived in Castroville to form a permanent
convent. The Sisters immediately opened a school. On the
first Monday in October, 1868, 36 students were enrolled.
A four-room schoolhouse was completed sometime between 1868
and 1870. Within three years, the enrollment of 130 and
a new two-story brick school building was built, the present
St. Louis Catholic School.
In 1968,
skyrocketing operational costs forced the closure of St.
Louis, ending a history of over 100 years of Catholic education
in Castroville.
In
December of 1985, a group of interested parishioners, under
 the
leadership of their pastor, Father Pat Ragsdale, met and
formulated a survey to determine parish support for the
re-establishment of a Catholic school for pre-school, Kindergarten
and primary levels. Because the initial response to this
proposal was positive, more research was conducted. In April
of 1986, after an 18 year closure, the St. Louis Pastoral
Council voted to re-open the Catholic School.
The
newly named St. Louis Child Development Center, opened its
doors in 1986 to a pre-Kindergarten class of 18. An extended
care program complemented the school day. Response to the
school was very positive and a Kindergarten class was added
in 1988. Each year, growing interest and enrollment enabled
the opening of additional classes and grade levels. With
the addition of a 1st Grade in 1989, the school was finally
recognized by the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the Texas
Catholic Conference Accreditation Department as “St.
Louis Catholic School”. Classes are now offered to
children in grades Pre-K 3 through 5th grade.
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