A founding member of the Saint Paul City Conference, Humboldt fields regular and adapted sports teams.

Humboldt has a large percentage of low-income students and has struggled on national standardized tests.

Humboldt opened for the 1889–1890 school year in a 316,000 square feet (29,400 m2) building, built in 1888.

[11] As a result of the campaign to keep the school open the latest portion of the building was built in 1976.

"[13] The following year Humboldt posted some of the largest gains in a state standardized tenth grade writing test.

[15][16] In 2005 plans were approved to give Humboldt a $1.4 million upgrade to the school's athletic facilities.

[17][18][19] The project was part of a larger plan intended to boost enrollment especially from the local neighborhood.

[20] As part of No Child Left Behind Act Humboldt Junior High needed restructuring for the 2009–2010 school year as a result of continual low test scores and not making Adequate Yearly Progress.

[23][24] Humboldt is a comprehensive high school and offers courses for college preparation and vocational training.

[26] There are several different programs to help low income students attend college including AVID, Admission Possible and Upward Bound.

[28] In 2002 Humboldt applied grant money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to establish several Small Learning Communities (SLCs).

[38] The school's neighborhood attendance area covers all of the West Side of Saint Paul and stretches across the Mississippi river to cover Downtown Saint Paul and portions of the West Seventh neighborhood.

In 2007 the team won their first outright City Conference Championship since sharing the title with Central in 1987, the inaugural season.

Sports that are not offered at Humboldt are played in co-ops with other Saint Paul City Conference members.

The PI and CI teams represent the entire Saint Paul City Conference.

Local American Indians viewed the mascot as a "symbol of ethnic and community pride".

[53][54] The school hosted several rallies to try to save the mascot and held walk outs led by Native American students.