Casa Grande Union High School
Encyclopedia
Casa Grande, Arizona
Casa Grande is a city in Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix and Tucson in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to 2010 Census, the population of the city is 48,571...
. It is part of the Casa Grande Union High School District
Casa Grande Union High School District
The Casa Grande Union High School District is the high school district for Casa Grande, Arizona. It operates Desert Winds High School, an alternative school; Casa Verde High School, a vocational and college preparatory school; and Casa Grande Union and Vista Grande high schools, which each have...
.
The original high school and gym, now used as the Casa Grande city hall, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
The original Casa Grande Union High School was built in 1920-21 at a cost of $135,000. It featured an indoor swimming pool and an auditorium. The large building's construction was a major milestone for the growing town between Phoenix and Tucson.The gymnasium was added on in 1936. It is Arizona's only adobe gymnasium. $12,000 was used to build the structure ($7,200 of it came from the Depression-era Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
). The adobe was locally-made with on-site earth; manufacturing it provided much-needed jobs during the Depression in hard-hit Casa Grande. It was in use as the high school until 1997, when a new, modern school with the capacity to serve 2,800 students opened at a different location.
Growth and shrinkage
Until the late 2000s, it was the only high school for the rapidly growing town of Casa Grande. In 1964, the school had 1,000 students for the first time, and by 1996, it had grown to double that size. By the time 2007 rolled around, Casa Grande had 3,335 students, making it the state's largest single high school.High schools in Mesa Public SchoolsMesa Public Schools
Mesa Public Schools is the unified school district for the city of Mesa, Arizona, United States...
have higher figures, but up to a fourth of the students in those numbers are 9th graders in feeder junior high schools. Including these numbers, Casa Grande was Arizona's fourth-largest high school Finally, Vista Grande High School
Vista Grande High School
Vista Grande High School is a high school in Casa Grande, Arizona. It is part of the Casa Grande Union High School District.It was opened to relieve continuing enrollment growth at Casa Grande Union High School, which had swelled to over 3,300 students and become Arizona's largest single-campus...
was opened by the district. Both schools are expected to have an even amount of students.