The founder of the Order of Christian Brothers, Edmund Ignatius Rice, remained a prominent figure in the school's educational vision.

The fledgling Iona School was located at the Stern Estate on Webster Avenue in New Rochelle and rented a facility to accommodate its class of 37 students.

It derived its name from the small Scottish island of Iona, known for its Gaelic monasticism that dates back to the arrival in AD 563 of missionary and abbot St. Columba, an important individual in the Christian Brothers' guiding mission.

[5] After three years, the school had outgrown the rather modest capacity of the single building on the estate, and Iona moved to a new 18-acre (7.3 ha) location.

[7] In February 1955, Iona Grammar School, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students, relocated to its present campus on Stratton Road, the former home and estate of Harry M. Stevens, a food concessionaire who is sometimes attributed with the invention of the hot dog.

[18][19] Iona Prep has three tiers of academics: core, honors, and Advanced Placement and superior talent enrichment program (STEP).

STEP is a rigorous two-year program for the most highly qualified freshmen and sophomore students that involves a more intensive study of Latin and mandatory AP and STEP-specific classes in English and history.

[22] In addition to a number of service programs in local communities, Iona Prep has several areas of interest throughout the United States and in foreign countries.

One of the largest programs is the annual service trip to Lima, Peru in which students and faculty work to better the lives of disadvantaged denizens.

Iona Prep also has missions in New Orleans, Washington, DC, Florida, New York City, the Dominican Republic, and at the US-Mexico border in Texas.

It is enclosed by a 400-meter track equipped with steeplechase and long jump areas as well as an electronic scoreboard and two-story press box.

Iona Prep played New Rochelle High School annually on Thanksgiving Day in a rivalry game called the "Turkey Bowl".

Undefeated and one-loss seasons CHSFL Championships Iona Prep Wrestling had been around since 2006 when it was started by the current head coach Thomas Straehle.

[40] Head coach Victor Quirolo, who was also Iona's varsity football coach, a team that went a perfect 12-0 and won the CHSFL AAA Championship, led his squad to victory in the City Catholic High School and the State Catholic High School Championships.