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. 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 splitting
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 2007, Casa Grande had 3,335 students, making it the state's largest single high school. Finally, Vista Grande High School was opened by the district. By 2012, Vista Grande was larger than Casa Grande by about 175 students.
Academics
The academic departments that Casa Grande Union High offers include the following:
Casa Grande offers a symphonic band, a freshman band, a jazz band, a color guard program, an indoor drumline and the "Pride of Casa Grande" marching band. "The Pride of Casa Grande" is recognized as one of the top ten Division 1 marching bands in Arizona. The indoor drumline also known as the "Casa Grande Indoor Percussion Ensemble" competes on a state and national level. They have been runners-up in the state for the past 11 years and in 2011 they traveled to Dayton, Ohio to compete in the World Drum Line championships and received 5th place in their division. In 2015 the Casa Grande Indoor Percussion Ensemble were crowned the 2015 Percussion Scholastic Open State Champions. Scholastic Open is the highest competing High School drumline division in Arizona. They also traveled to World Championships in Dayton, Ohio later that month and competed against the Nation's Top High School drumlines, making it their second trip to Nationals. In 2016 the Casa Grande Indoor Percussion Ensemble was crowned the 2016 Percussion Scholastic Open State Champions for their second consecutive year. They won the Percussion Scholastic Open State Champions again in 2017 for their third consecutive year.
