It was named after John Campbell Greenway, a mining engineer and United States Senator.

The school was named after John Campbell Greenway, an American businessman and senior officer of the US Army Reserve.

A small variety of advanced placement classes, as well as opportunities to do post-secondary work at Itasca Community College near Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

In recent year, specific classes have become available that give students that chance to explore career pathways for education, healthcare, and business.

Often in these type of arrangements, a unique (and neutral) nickname is chosen to reflect the shared nature of the schools participating: the football team, and both the boy's and girls' cross country and track and field teams, for example, are called the GNK Titans; the girls' hockey team is referred to as the GRG Lightning.

In some cases, however, combined athletic teams do not have a name that reflects the dual nature of the participating schools.

The boys' hockey team includes students from Nashwauk-Keewatin and Deer River but is still referred to simply as the Greenway Raiders.

Greenway High School offers a number of opportunities for students to be involved with the arts and/or music.