[citation needed] Brown was honored by U.S. News & World Report with a Bronze Medal Award in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Brown High School was the state's top scorer in the 2009 CATS testing cycle.

[citation needed] The school was founded in 1971, with classes starting in the fall of 1972 in the Brown Hotel at Fourth Street and Broadway in downtown Louisville.

The founding director of J. Graham Brown School was Murray State University graduate Martha Ellison, who, during her earlier teaching career, was the English teacher of playwright Marsha Norman.

The name change became official at the March 21, 2017 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Education.