In 2002 the school received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which led to the introduction of eight Small Learning Communities.

Johnson offers over 40 extracurricular clubs and organizations including an Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFJROTC) unit, one of only three in the state.

[6][7] By 1959 overcrowding as a result of the post-World War II baby boom forced the construction of a third school building.

Land was purchased in 1960 at the former site of Hastings Pond, which had been filled in during construction of Interstate 94 through Saint Paul, and the building was completed at a cost of $3,663,529.

[12][13] Small Learning Communities[14] Johnson participates in the Advanced Placement (AP) program, offering college-level courses in twelve subject areas.

[3] In 2002 Johnson received $1.1 million in grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Johnson's chief rival is Harding Senior High School, and the two football squads play each other annually for the Hatchet trophy.

[28] The rivalry is the oldest continuous one in the Saint Paul City Conference with the teams meeting each year since 1932.

[29] In 2010, the Governors won their first boys' basketball state title, beating out Grand Rapids High School and capping off an undefeated season.

[35] Most of the bantam hockey team players from the East Side attend either Johnson or Hill-Murray School.

Along with Como Park, Johnson is the only Saint Paul City Conference school to field a hockey team.

[40] Johnson is one of only three high schools in Minnesota to have an Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFJROTC).