[2] Washington serves grades 9 through 12, and is a part of the Houston Independent School District.

A 1923 Houston Informer article stated that the school building was in bad repair, calling it a "rat trap".

[6] Washington was relieved by the construction and opening of Yates and Wheatley high schools in the 1920s.

[8] Lockett Junior High School, which closed in June 1968, was established in the former Washington campus.

[9] In February 2012, because the school population was at a historic low of 823, several members of the Independence Heights community, led by Sylvester Turner, a Texas Legislature representative, advocated for reinvestment in the school.

[13] Turner and Washington High School officials established a donation campaign.

[17][18] In 2011 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) gave the overall school an "unacceptable" rating.

51% of the school's 9th grade students passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills mathematics portion.

[2] In 2012 Houston Community College established an auto mechanic program at Booker T. Washington.

The Houston Independent School District paid $300,000 to restore the auto shop.

Turner said in February 2012 that the campus needed an overhaul greater than the $3.8 million that the district allotted to the school as a result of the previous bond election.