The Jesuits built the Parochial School in the 1860s. At that time, this was the only elementary school of the peninsula.

Children from Sindangan, Katipunan, and other places of Zamboanga del Norte went to Dapitan to earn their lower education; they stayed on the convent as the priest’s assistants.

The Parochial School existed with the main purpose of teaching Catechism, although reading, writing, and arithmetic were also taught as subjects by the Jesuits. The structure that is visible at present is only a small portion of the original edifice.

Once, it was used as an auditorium of the Rizal Memorial Institute where most of its programs were held. At present, the administration of the Saint James the Greater Parish took over management of the Parochial School for its own affairs and gatherings.