In January 1876 the Dominican Sisters of the St. Cecilia Community in Nashville opened a school in Chattanooga at the request of the Reverend Patrick Ryan, the pastor of Sts.

After reopening, the school experienced a period of prosperity with enrollment increasing so rapidly that a larger building was erected in 1886.

This change was in keeping with the policy of the Diocese of Nashville to establish combined high schools in cities where there were two or more parishes.

In September 1965 increased enrollment again necessitated more spacious accommodations and Notre Dame High School moved to a new building on Vermont Avenue.

Under his direction Notre Dame experienced a period focused on academic excellence with the expansion of services for students with learning disabilities.

The new facility occupies a prominent section of the NDHS campus and includes a 6,628 square-foot auxiliary gymnasium, a new weight room, new men’s and women’s locker rooms, a new art studio and dark room, four academic classrooms, new offices and training facilities and flexible use space for dance, cheerleading and yoga, an indoor wellness track, a 5,218 square-foot wrestling and training center and 4,636 square-feet of multi-use space for student, alumni and community programs.

In 2010, the fourth Bishop of Knoxville, Richard F. Stika, arranged for the return of four Dominican Sisters from the St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, Tennessee.

In 2013, Mr. George Valadie, a 1971 alumnus and former faculty member and Director of Alumni & Development, was appointed as the school’s first President.