Plans for a school to serve Westphalia's German Catholic community began soon after the earliest settlers arrived in 1879. Under the direction of the first trustees, Anton Jansing, Joseph Hoelscher, and Stanislaus Rollewitz, the school was established to provide both parochial and public instruction, and Westphalia Little School opened in 1884. Early teachers included J. H. Pels, Professor A. Kechoff, Brother Stefan Geiser, CPPS, George Laloumoudiere, G. Horst Daniel, Joseph Henke, and Tim Sullivan. The building had originally been constructed as the Church of Visitation, and after severe storm damage it was remodeled in 1893 for use as the community schoolhouse. In 1899 the Sisters of Divine Providence from Our Lady of the Lake Covent in San Antonio began teaching there. Although the parochial program ended in 1935, the Sisters continued to serve in the public school. Since 1884, Westphalia Little School has offered area residents an educational program based on cooperation between public and parochial instruction.