St. Joan of Arc Catholic School opened its doors in the fall of 2025, welcoming preschool, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten through eighth grade students. St. Joan of Arc is continuing the long legacy and community of Lourdes Catholic School, which operated in downtown Bettendorf from 1919 through the spring of 2025.
St. Joan of Arc Catholic School came about after the two Catholic churches in Bettendorf, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. John Vianney, came together to adapt to the changing needs in our community. With aging facilities, a growing and shifting population center in Bettendorf, and changes to funding for Catholic education, a collaborative opportunity arose which resulted in the building of St. Joan of Arc Catholic School.
The Lourdes Catholic School community and St. John Vianney Preschool community, made up of our administrators, teachers, staff, students, and families, came together and moved in the summer of 2025 to begin this new chapter operating in our new school building as St. Joan of Arc.
Our History as Lourdes Catholic School
St. Joan of Arc traces its roots all the way back to 1919 when Our Lady of Lourdes school began. In that first year, 67 students were taught by the Sisters of Humility, and enrollment doubled in the second year. In 1952, work on the school building began and was completed in May 1953, with the new school being named Lourdes Memorial School. About 330 students enrolled. Due to the rapid growth in the area, school enrollment projections increased much more than were ever anticipated. In November 1955, the recently completed school was expanded by adding four classrooms on the east end. In 1956, the old wooden church was vacated, and masses were held in the basement of the Lourdes Memorial School, which was used most recently in 2025 as the library of LCS. In 1984, a new parish activity center provided room for the school’s lunchroom and gymnasium. In 1994, school office space was expanded and in 1997, four new classrooms and a fine arts area were added to the school.
