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Coordinates: 0°0′0″N 0°0′0″E 0, 0

Canyon Del Oro High School

• Location & Contact Information
  • Address, Directions, & Map:
    • 25 W. Calle Concordia, Oro Valley, Arizona, United States of America
  • Telephone Numbers
    • (520) 696-5560
    • (520) 696-5590 (fax)
  • Official Website: [1]
• History & Memorable Moments
  • Financing through bonds

The dramatic population growth in the Amphitheater School District during the 1950s placed increasing demands on the district's existing schools. Enrollment reached capacity at the district's sole high school, Amphitheater High School, in the late 1950s. As a result, District Superintendent Marion Donaldson developed a bond proposal in June 1959 that included the purchase of a second high school site in the district. Voters approved the $1.9 million bonds ($12.8 million in 2006) by a 4 to 1 margin. Population growth in the area north of the Rillito River and Tucson was rapidly expanding, and the original 40 acres purchased for the second high school was then determined to initially serve a middle school population as well. Another bond issue was proposed for the construction of Canyon del Oro School in June 1961, with $1.4 million ($9.2 million in 2006) for the first phase of the school, and $2.3 million ($15.3 million in 2006) for expansion of the school. Voters again approved the bonds by a 3 to 1 margin (Amphitheater by Peyton Reavis, 1981). ^[1]

• Canyon del Oro Junior High School

Canyon del Oro School opened as a junior high school in the fall of 1962 with only a seventh grade class. The campus was only a few buildings with a large grass courtyard accessed by Calle Concordia, which was then only a small dirt road. Land values north of Tucson were beginning to appreciate through the 1950s, and many residents of the Amphitheater School District expressed concern that the site of the school in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains was too costly (Amphitheater by Peyton Reavis, 1981). ^[1]

The school added a new grade level each year, and Canyon del Oro High School was established and declared a high school by the State of Arizona on July 1, 1965, serving grades 9-10 with only a few hundred students. Canyon del Oro Junior High School would continue operation on the same campus, serving grades 7-8 until 1974, when L.W. Cross Middle School was established on a separate campus to accommodate the middle school students. ^[1]

• Canyon del Oro High School

Construction continued on the high school campus, and CDO gained recognition as a school of privilege with state-of-the-art facilities. The campus was designed in a Modernist style by architects Bernard Friedman and Fred Jobusch (Friedman & Jobusch) to be completed in phases. Friedman & Jobusch also designed the contemporary Main Library at the University of Arizona in 1976. ^[1]

The Modernist style incorporated into the Canyon del Oro campus design in the early 1960s is a significant example of the Modernist movement that dominated in the U.S. following World War II. The Canyon del Oro campus represents a shift in 20th century American architecture when Modernism was favored over traditional styles in an effort to project American progress. The gymnasium at the school featured a four-sided score board suspended above the basketball court (Amphitheater by Peyton Reavis, 1981). ^[1]

The CDO campus expanded with the gradual population increase north of Tucson, and the first graduating class was in the spring of 1968. New construction occurred through the late 1990s, adding technology and laboratory science facilities for chemistry, physics, and biology. A second gymnasium was completed in the 1970s, along with an expanded library, fine arts complex, and bookstore. As of 2007, the campus included 21 buildings on 68 acres. ^[1]

Among the most notable families whose children attended CDO during the 1960s and 1970s was the Udall family. Mo Udall represented much of southern Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives at the time, and his brother Stewart Udall served as president of the Amphitheater School Board before later serving as Secretary of the Interior under U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. ^[1]

From the 1960s through the 1980s, CDO became a dominating presence in golf and tennis, capturing the respective state titles nearly each year. CDO also won back-to-back state championships in both basketball and football in the late 1970s. The CDO girl's basketball team registered an undefeated 28-0 record in 1987, capturing the 5A State title (Arizona Interscholastic Association). ^[1]

• Substantial growth

As the Oro Valley area experienced significant population growth in the 1990s, enrollment at CDO increased as well. At its enrollment peak, CDO served a student population of nearly 3,100 in 2001. CDO had the highest enrollment of any high school in southern Arizona, and was one of the largest schools in the state. The growth and desirability of Oro Valley (the fastest growing municipality in Arizona for several years in the 1990s), was often credited by the media to CDO and the strong educational reputation the school established (Arizona Daily Star). In 2001, CDO received relief as the Amphitheater School District opened Ironwood Ridge, the district's third high school, in northwestern Oro Valley. ^[1]

• Current state of the school

Canyon del Oro continues to register among the highest standardized test scores in Arizona, and a notable number of National Merit Scholars. In 2005, CDO was one of four high schools in the Tucson metropolitan area designated as the highest academic distinction by the Arizona Department of Education. ^[1]

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