diff --git a/app/controllers/gradebooks_controller.rb b/app/controllers/gradebooks_controller.rb
index 9b72dc75ce9..15f09b2aad0 100644
--- a/app/controllers/gradebooks_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/gradebooks_controller.rb
@@ -233,6 +233,11 @@ class GradebooksController < ApplicationController
       @course_is_concluded = @context.completed?
       @post_grades_tools = post_grades_tools
 
+      # Optimize initial data loading
+      if Account.site_admin.feature_enabled?(:prefetch_gradebook_user_ids)
+        prefetch_xhr(user_ids_course_gradebook_url(@context), id: 'user_ids')
+      end
+
       render_gradebook
     end
   end
@@ -339,6 +344,8 @@ class GradebooksController < ApplicationController
     last_exported_attachment = @last_exported_gradebook_csv.try(:attachment)
     grading_standard = @context.grading_standard_or_default
     {
+      prefetch_gradebook_user_ids: Account.site_admin.feature_enabled?(:prefetch_gradebook_user_ids),
+
       GRADEBOOK_OPTIONS: {
         api_max_per_page: per_page,
         chunk_size: Setting.get('gradebook2.submissions_chunk_size', '10').to_i,
diff --git a/app/jsx/gradebook/DataLoader.js b/app/jsx/gradebook/DataLoader.js
index 9b3d765a61c..2db58a24fc2 100644
--- a/app/jsx/gradebook/DataLoader.js
+++ b/app/jsx/gradebook/DataLoader.js
@@ -18,10 +18,25 @@
 
 import $ from 'jquery'
 
+import {asJson, consumePrefetchedXHR} from '@instructure/js-utils'
+
 import NaiveRequestDispatch from '../shared/network/NaiveRequestDispatch'
 import StudentContentDataLoader from './default_gradebook/DataLoader/StudentContentDataLoader'
 
 function getStudentIds(courseId) {
+  if (ENV.prefetch_gradebook_user_ids) {
+    /*
+     * When user ids have been prefetched, the data is only known valid for the
+     * first request. Consume it by pulling it out of the prefetch store, which
+     * will force all subsequent requests for user ids to call through the
+     * network.
+     */
+    const promise = consumePrefetchedXHR('user_ids')
+    if (promise) {
+      return asJson(promise)
+    }
+  }
+
   const url = `/courses/${courseId}/gradebook/user_ids`
   return $.ajaxJSON(url, 'GET', {})
 }
diff --git a/app/jsx/gradebook/default_gradebook/DataLoader/__tests__/DataLoader.test.js b/app/jsx/gradebook/default_gradebook/DataLoader/__tests__/DataLoader.test.js
index 295f5bb35ec..26a2093cf98 100644
--- a/app/jsx/gradebook/default_gradebook/DataLoader/__tests__/DataLoader.test.js
+++ b/app/jsx/gradebook/default_gradebook/DataLoader/__tests__/DataLoader.test.js
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 
 import sinon from 'sinon'
 
+import {clearPrefetchedXHRs, getPrefetchedXHR, setPrefetchedXHR} from '@instructure/js-utils'
+
 import FakeServer, {
   paramsFromRequest,
   pathFromRequest
@@ -179,11 +181,41 @@ describe('Gradebook DataLoader', () => {
       })
 
       it('resolves .gotStudentIds with the user ids', async () => {
-        let loadedStudentIds
         await loadGradebookData()
-        dataLoader.gotStudentIds.then(studentIds => (loadedStudentIds = studentIds))
+        const loadedStudentIds = await dataLoader.gotStudentIds
         expect(loadedStudentIds).toEqual({user_ids: exampleData.studentIds})
       })
+
+      describe('when student ids have been prefetched', () => {
+        beforeEach(() => {
+          ENV.prefetch_gradebook_user_ids = true
+          const jsonString = JSON.stringify({user_ids: exampleData.studentIds})
+          const response = new Response(jsonString)
+          setPrefetchedXHR('user_ids', Promise.resolve(response))
+        })
+
+        afterEach(() => {
+          clearPrefetchedXHRs()
+          delete ENV.prefetch_gradebook_user_ids
+        })
+
+        it('does not sends the request using the given course id', async () => {
+          await loadGradebookData()
+          const requests = server.filterRequests(urls.userIds)
+          expect(requests).toHaveLength(0)
+        })
+
+        it('resolves .gotStudentIds with the user ids', async () => {
+          await loadGradebookData()
+          const loadedStudentIds = await dataLoader.gotStudentIds
+          expect(loadedStudentIds).toEqual({user_ids: exampleData.studentIds})
+        })
+
+        it('removes the prefetch request', async () => {
+          await loadGradebookData()
+          expect(getPrefetchedXHR('user_ids')).toBeUndefined()
+        })
+      })
     })
 
     describe('loading grading period assignments', () => {
diff --git a/config/feature_flags/apogee_release_flags.yml b/config/feature_flags/apogee_release_flags.yml
index 3ea82eb8863..78a739dc2b5 100644
--- a/config/feature_flags/apogee_release_flags.yml
+++ b/config/feature_flags/apogee_release_flags.yml
@@ -56,3 +56,8 @@ include_speed_grader_in_assignment_header_menu:
   applies_to: SiteAdmin
   display_name: Include SpeedGrader in Assignment Header Menu
   description: Includes a link to SpeedGrader in the assignment header menu in Gradebook.
+prefetch_gradebook_user_ids:
+  state: hidden
+  applies_to: SiteAdmin
+  display_name: Prefetch User IDs in Gradebook
+  description: Load user ids upon page load so that Gradebook loads more quickly.
diff --git a/packages/js-utils/src/prefetched_xhrs.js b/packages/js-utils/src/prefetched_xhrs.js
index 0408aef9a14..7057ad8e033 100644
--- a/packages/js-utils/src/prefetched_xhrs.js
+++ b/packages/js-utils/src/prefetched_xhrs.js
@@ -18,10 +18,61 @@
 
 // These are helpful methods you can use along side the ruby ApplicationHelper::prefetch_xhr helper method in canvas
 
+/**
+ * Retrieve the fetch response promise assigned to the given id. This will
+ * return `undefined` if there are no prefetched requests or there is no
+ * request assigned to the given id. When a request is assigned to the given
+ * id, it will remain stored for subsequent retrievals, if needed.
+ *
+ * @param {String} id
+ * @returns {Promise<Response>} fetchResponsePromise
+ */
 export function getPrefetchedXHR(id) {
   return window.prefetched_xhrs && window.prefetched_xhrs[id]
 }
 
+/**
+ * Retrieve the fetch response promise assigned to the given id. This will
+ * return `undefined` if there are no prefetched requests or there is no
+ * request assigned to the given id. When a request is assigned to the given
+ * id, it will be removed from request storage. This is important for requests
+ * which are expected to return fresh results upon each request.
+ *
+ * @param {String} id
+ * @returns {Promise<Response>} fetchResponsePromise
+ */
+export function consumePrefetchedXHR(id) {
+  if (window.prefetched_xhrs) {
+    const value = window.prefetched_xhrs[id]
+    delete window.prefetched_xhrs[id]
+    return value
+  }
+
+  return undefined
+}
+
+/**
+ * Store a fetch response promise assigned to the given id. This function is
+ * intended for specs so that they do not need awareness of the implementation
+ * details for how prefetched requests are managed.
+ *
+ * @param {String} id
+ * @param {Promise<Response>} fetchResponsePromise
+ */
+export function setPrefetchedXHR(id, fetchResponsePromise) {
+  window.prefetched_xhrs = window.prefetched_xhrs || {}
+  window.prefetched_xhrs[id] = fetchResponsePromise
+}
+
+/**
+ * Remove all prefetched requests from storage. This function is intended for
+ * specs so that they can clean up after assertions without needing awareness
+ * of the implementation details for how prefetched requests are managed.
+ */
+export function clearPrefetchedXHRs() {
+  delete window.prefetched_xhrs
+}
+
 /**
  * Transforms a `fetch` request into something that looks like an `axios` response
  * with a `.data` and `.headers` property, so you can pass it to our parseLinkHeaders stuff