Immaculate Conception Parish was formally founded on December 1, 1901.  Fr. John W. Moore, C.M., the 2nd pastor of the parish from 1903 to 1906, saw the immediate need for a parish school and promptly began to plan for one.  At the time, the church was located at 500 E. Chelten Avenue on the St. Vincent Seminary grounds, on the western edge of the new parish.  Fr. Moore felt that the school should be more centrally located within the parish.  In seeking a spot to build the school, there was only one commonsense norm to follow: the convenience of the children.  The decision was to build the school on a parcel of land at the intersection of Chelten Avenue and Sprague Street.  In choosing this site, Fr. Moore actually achieved a twofold end: 1) he made the school easily accessible from all parts of the parish, and 2) he took away any excuse for sending children to the public school located just across the street – Francis D. Pastorius Elementary School.  With the land purchase, construction on the Immaculate Conception Parish School began in 1903.

    The cornerstone of the new parochial school building was laid on Sunday afternoon, October 13, 1903 by the Most Reverend Edmond R. Prendergast, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.  Odd coincidence, or maybe not, but October 13 is a special day on the calendar for the Blessed Mother, the patroness of the parish.  Fourteen years later on this day, October 13, 1917, Our Lady made her final appearance to the children at Fatima.  With band playing and flags flying, the parish Holy Name Society, Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality,  the seminarians from St. Vincent’s Seminary, the parish alter boys and parishioners paraded along Chelten Avenue from the church (the first IC Church, located at 500 E. Chelten Avenue) to the school building site.  Fr. Philip R. McDevitt, Diocesan Superintendent of Schools and later Bishop of Harrisburg, delivered the sermon, a logical presentation of the case for Catholic education.  He concluded his homily by stating “…that in building up a vast system parish school education in the United States, the Catholic Church has been only carrying out the mission that has ever been hers, that of  ‘teaching the trust that makes men free’ “.  The new Immaculate Conception School was completed in the following year and blessed on September 4, 1904 by His Excellency, Most Reverend Patrick Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia.  Mr. James A. Flaherty, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus delivered a stirring address on the occasion.  Archbishop Ryan spoke as well.

    The Immaculate Conception Parish School faced on Sprague Street with a frontage of 87 feet and has a depth of 147 feet along Chelten Avenue.  It is three stories in height, with a basement, and is divided into twenty-one sections or classrooms.  The exterior is of Port Deposit stone laid in random range style and trimmed throughout with Fox Island granite.  The roof is of the best grade slate, and all gutters, valleys, finials, cornices and spouts are of copper.  Spacious windows admit floods of light into every classroom.  The corridors – too often narrow and dark in school buildings – are twelve feet wide and well lit by an abundance of windows.

    The classrooms had either southern or eastern exposure” they were approximately thirty feet-square and fourteen in height.  The building was finished throughout in white oak, with maple flooring of the best quality.  All the ceilings were of sheeted steel.  The classrooms on the Chelten Avenue side were separated by movable partitions that could be rolled back to form one large auditorium.  There were twenty-one classrooms in the school building, seven per floor.  The Mother Superior's (principal) office was on the first floor, just beyond the main entrance.  Also on the first floor was a very large statue of the Blessed Mother, the patroness of the parish.  On the second floor, was the glass-enclosed nurses office.  It should be noted that the longtime school nurse, Miss Harkens, served as school nurse from 1924 or 1925 through to 1971.       

    The enclosed fire escapes were of brick, stone and iron.  They were used daily as entrances and exists so that the children were thoroughly familiar with them in case of fire.  Each floor boasted a fire line with a hose attached, ready to be used on the instant.

    The basement of the new school was fitted up for general parish use, and contained a bowling alley, pool room, two meeting rooms, a kitchen, a janitor’s room and two large storage closets.  The basement was, in fact, the first parish hall.  When the parish hall was built in 1908, the school basement was converted into the lunchroom for the school, with the kitchen remaining in use.  The two meeting rooms were used at times, and as needed, as additional classroom.  

    The Immaculate Conception School started life, full grown.  It never had an infancy.  It never grew from a small school into a large school., but from a large school into an ever-larger one, from a registration of over 900 pupils on its opening day in September, 1904, to its peak of  1,800 peak in the 1950s.  Wise and experienced hands directed the very beginning: the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, under the leadership of the gentle and capable Mother Mary James, the school’s first principal and later Mother General of her community.

    From its opening in 1904, through the 1910s, through the depression years of the 1920s and 1930s, through the war years of the 1940s, through the calm of the 1950s, through the turbulent years of the 1960s into the 1970s, thousands upon thousands of Catholic youth from East Germantown would receive their elementary education in this majestic building under the guidance and direction of the good Sisters of IHM.  

   Prior to the building of the school, there existed a three-story twin home on Sprague Street.  This was purchased along with the building lots.  This was used as the first convent for the Sisters who taught in the school.  With the growth in the school and the need for additional Sisters to staff the school, the first convent soon became cramped and inadequate.  After construction of the parish hall, the lower church and the rectory, a new convent was built for the Sisters in 1922.  The familiar new convent was also located on Sprague Street, right next to the original convent.  The twin homes that served as the original convent were then converted for use as the Immaculate Conception Commercial School in the late 1920s.  The purpose was to teach the parish girls, who otherwise would not be continuing their education through high school, business skills such as stenography, typing, secretarial, bookkeeping, etc.  The two-year program was intended to prepare the girls to enter the working world upon completion.  The Immaculate Conception Commercial School closed in 1953 as most girls at the time were continuing their education through high school.  The building was then partioned off, with one half rented as a personal residence and the other half used for meeting space and when and where needed, as additional classroom space for the school.  The building became informally known as the "Commercial Building".

   Unknown as to exactly when built, but it was not that long after the school was built, the "Annex" was built on to the rear of a house owned by the parish at 1023 E. Chelten Avenue, right next to the school.  The house was used as the Aquinas Lending Library for the parish and parishioners.  The built-on Annex provided four additional classrooms for the school.  In 1962, the house at 1023 E. Chelten was torn down in order to build student restrooms and a handsome new facade for the Annex that fronted Chelten Avenue.  The schoolyard garages for the school bus, rectory and convent cars were also built at this time. 

   Not only did the parish provide for an excellent education for the children of the parish, but there were so many extracurricular activities provided for the children as well.  Various sports teams and intramural sports were offered in the parish hall and elsewhere.  Dances, plays, musicals, recitals, games, etc were offered in the parish hall.  The parish offered scouting opportunities for the boys of the parish through Boy Scout Troop 118 and Cub Scout Pack 118, as well as, scouting opportunities for the girls of the parish through Girl Scout Troop 100 and Brownie Pack 100.  Girls and boys alike often volunteered their time and services to the various social missions on the area, including the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, the House of the Good Shepherd, the Gonzaga Home, etc.  The parish also addressed the spiritual needs of the youth through the altar boys, choir and other such sanctuary groups.  Though not affiliated with the parish, the youth of the parish were well served by the nearby East Germantown Recreation Center, Belfield Recreation Center, Waterview Recreation Center, Awbury Park, etc.  Though a parish function more so than a school function, the annual and popular parish carnival was instituted in the 1950s and continued through to the late 1960s.        

   Upon completion of their eight year elementary education, the students of Immaculate Conception who went on to Catholic high school initially went to Roman Catholic High School for Boys or St. John the Baptist High School for Boys in Manayunk, while the girls had the option of John W. Hallahan High School for Girls or St. John the Baptist High School for Girls in Manayunk.  Upon completion of the building of Northeast Catholic High School for Boys and Little Flower High School for Girls, the youth of the parish were directed to those schools, with the option of St. John the Baptist High Schools, until their closings in the 1950s.  Upon completion of the building of Cardinal Dougherty High School in 1956, the boys and girls of the parish were then directed to that school.     

   School enrollment peaked in the 1950s at 1,800.  With demographic changes, school enrollment started a slow decline starting in the beginning of the 1960s.  By the end of the 1960s, because of increased operating costs to run the school, the parish saw a need to start charging tuition to those who attended.  Until that time, the parish school was fully supported by the parishioners. 

   On September 12, 1971, a sad chapter unfolded in the history of Immaculate Conception Parish.  A devastating fire destroyed the beloved school, and it was razed shortly thereafter. The familiar landmark that stood so majestically at Sprague Street and Chelten Avenue was gone forever.  At the time of the fire, the school had an enrollment of 800 pupils. Because of projected declines in enrollment, a decision was made not to rebuild. Several temporary sites were used while the parish hall, at Chew Avenue and Chelten Avenue, was renovated to serve as the permanent school.  With the conversion of the Parish Hall, the basement was completely converted into classroom space and parts of the 1st level.  When completed, the old Parish Hall served as the Immaculate Conception School for the next fifteen years or so.