[3][12] The school was officially dedicated on September 27, 1937, when its first full academic year began, with Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in attendance.

[6][16][17][18][19][20][21] Around this time, the State Education Commissioner and the Board of Education began efforts to prevent "de facto" segregation in the school and the entire Queens borough; these efforts would involve transferring students to schools outside of their local district.

[6][16][22] In September 1965, the New York City Transit Authority created the Q77 bus route along Francis Lewis Boulevard, in order to better transport students from other districts to the high school.

[18] In 1968, Donovan proposed rezoning the entire Queens borough, requiring students to be bused to more distant high schools, which led to similar protests.

[29] The situation and ensuing civil unrest between the students led to increased police presence at the school,[30] and a walkout on May 19, 1969.

[31] Rezoning and busing efforts continued into the 1970s, by which time the high school was predominantly Black and Puerto Rican.

[1][4][6][21][42][43][44] Some also accused the city of using the high school as a "dumping ground for the borough's most unwanted minority students.

[6][48] Jackson HS and Monroe were among the first former large high schools in New York City to be reopened as an "educational campus.

[1] The building continued to employ metal detectors following its conversion into a campus;[6][51] other high schools-turned-campuses had ceased screenings as part of their transition.