The School District of Grand Island was formally organized over 100 years ago in 1867 with the high school portion of the district coming into being in the 1870"s. The first high school included a K-12 building and was built between 1st Street, Division Street, Wheeler Street, and Walnut Street on land donated by the Union Pacific Railroad. The school was named Dodge School in honor of Major General Grenville Mellen Dodge, chief Engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad.


By the turn of the century, 1908, a new building housing only the high school was proposed and built on a site at 10th Street and Walnut. The new high school offered two courses of study: Classical Studies (college Prep.) and Manual Training (Vocational Studies).

Because of the continued growth of the community and the establishment of a junior high school at the present high school site, a third new high school building was constructed at 5th Street and Elm in 1925. This building became formally named Grand Island Senior High.

By the 1950's the community continued to grow and consequently moved the high school to a new building in 1955 on the 2100 block of Lafayette Avenue. This continues as the current location for Grand Island Senior High.

Aerial view of Grand Island Senior High taken on May 6, 1983, looking southwest (Photo by Hal Maggiore)

Ground was broken in 1994 for a major addition to the Senior High Building and was completed in 1997. The addition reflected the need for additional curriculum and technology classroom space. The new site houses grades 9-12 instead of the traditional 10-12 of previous years. Today there are nearly 2200 students enrolled at Grand Island Senior High taught by over 150 teachers. 

Through the past 100 years, citizens of Grand Island have shown a commitment to an ". . . education (which) develops the talent of all. Its goal is to help individuals become free self-disciplined and dedicated citizens." (Earl Wiltse, former superintendent).