School History

"June 7, 1964 will be recorded by future historians as a turning point in the history of the Catholic Church in Southwest Iowa. On this day the hopes and dreams of the early pioneer Catholics became a reality with the completion of Saint Albert the Great High School."

Excerpt from The Des Moines Messenger on Friday, June 26, 1964

Saint Albert High School, a replacement for Saint Francis High and Mount Loretto in Council Bluffs and Saint Joseph High in Neola, was designed as a co-institutional school with separate facilities for boys and girls. A groundbreaking ceremony for Saint Albert the Great Catholic High School was held on May 15, 1963. Cost of the school was reported to be $1.25 million.

Saint Albert enrolled its first freshman class in the fall of 1964 with a student population of 153 and nine faculty members. In 1965, 471 students were enrolled in grades 9th though 12th. Within two years of the opening of Saint Albert High School, elementary education was facing severe financial problems. In the fall of 1969, Saint Francis, Saint Peter's, and Saint Patrick's elementary schools were merged. In 1972, all of the Council Bluffs' Catholic elementary schools were merged into the Saint Albert Educational System.

Today, Saint Albert Catholic Schools has begun an exciting new chapter in the school's history. The school opened a new elementary addition and the state-of-the-art Sheryl K. Johnson Child Care Center in 2009. This new facility allows Saint Albert to provide educational services from cradle to college -- all on one campus!

Currently, Saint Albert Schools is served by eight Catholic parishes in the Council Bluffs area. Operated under the direction of the Council Bluffs Area Catholic Board of Education, Saint Albert provides a quality, faith-based education to more than 700 students in southwest Iowa.

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