Aldegonda Wolbring (Sister Mary Aloysia), foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame, and Lisette Kühling (Sister Mary Ignatia), cofoundress, began the Sisters of Notre Dame in Germany in 1850. 

The name of Lial School is derived from their names: Lisette and Aldegonda.  The children are acquainted with these school patrons and urged to continue in their spirit to build a social order that promotes the dignity of each person.

The initial vision for Lial Catholic School began with Sister Mary Arthur.  Classes began in the fall of 1972 in a small cottage on Davis Road with an enrollment of twelve children.  By January of 1973, five more children joined the group and classes could be held in the newly constructed school.   In 1975 and 1976 the Readiness, Primary, and Intermediate Units along with the multipurpose room were added.  What had previously served as a courtyard was made into the present library in 1988.  The 1996-97 school year brought the first phase of the construction of the southwest wing.  By the spring of 1997, the former multipurpose room was remodeled as the Middle School classroom and the new auditorium was ready for use.  The remaining rooms in the southwest wing were completed during the next five years, as funds were available. 

Lial Catholic School has the distinct honor of having received the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence two times [1991-92 and 1998-99].  Less than one fourth of a percent of the schools in the United States have earned this standing.