St. Frances de Chantal School opened its doors for the first time in September of 1930, welcoming 150 students in Grades 1 through 4. Academic instruction took place under the guidance of the Sisters of the Divine Compassion. The original school building also housed the St. Frances de Chantal parish church, and the Parish Center has always served as the auditorium and cafeteria. 

In the mid-1950s St. Frances de Chantal parish experienced a time of rapid growth and expansion. Plans to build an addition to the School began and the parish started to buy land on which to build a new and larger church. An additional wing to the School containing 16 classrooms was built in 1957, completing the School’s campus. A convent was built during this period, flanking the School and the rectory. In 1971 the newly constructed church was opened across the street from the convent and rectory and the original church was converted into a Gymnasium for the School. Many of the masons who built the church were parishioners who were Italian immigrants. 

The Throggs Neck neighborhood of the Bronx and St. Frances de Chantal Parish and School were originally populated predominantly by Italian and Irish families. Beginning in the late 1970s, our population began to diversify, with many Hispanic, Asian, and African American families making Throggs Neck their home and St. Frances de Chantal the school of choice for their children. Today, families with two and three generations of St. Frances de Chantal School graduates are still active members of the parish. We proudly count many of our alumni among our former and current faculty and staff.