With an enrollment of over 2100 students (in 2008–2009),[4] it is one of the largest public high schools in Kentucky,[5][6] It also houses the Math, Science, and Technology Center.

It is considered one of Kentucky's strongest teams and a longstanding favorite in both the Governor's Cup tournament and the NAQT State Championships.

After placing 2nd in 2021 and 3rd in both 2022 and 2023, the team ended a decade-long drought and won the Governor's Cup State Championship in 2024.

[8] In 2024, Dunbar became the first team from Kentucky in almost 15 years to place in the top 10 at NAQT's High School National Championship.

[10] The Math, Science, and Technology Center, also known as MSTC, is a magnet program housed in Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.

The program accepts at least 55 students each year, selected from the 2500 incoming high school freshmen in Fayette County.

[12] It was named after the 19th century African-American poet and writer, Paul Laurence Dunbar, whose parents were from Kentucky.

The building of the original high school at 545 North Upper Street has since been converted to the Dunbar Community Center, which serves myriad cultural, educational and recreational needs for the city of Lexington.

Roach Sports Center" for basketball coach Sanford T. Roach, who led the school to a 512–142 record from 1942 to 1965, and is a member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.

The new PLD adopted the original school colors of the old Dunbar High (which were red and black, but changed to green and white during the 1940s).

[19] Paul Laurence Dunbar offers many sports, including football, boys' and girls' basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, boys' lacrosse, tennis, golf, track and field, cheerleading, swimming, dancing, wrestling, and ice hockey.

[22] For the first five and a half years, the PLD football team played their "home" games at other Lexington high schools.

[citation needed] Midway through the 1999 season, PLD's football stadium opened, and that year the school advanced to the playoffs for the second time.

This is a strong sport at the high school with the multiple regional titles and the 5 star elite athletes.

Zach Byrd also won a Kentucky Mr. Soccer in 2010 when Dunbar lost in the elite eight against Henry Clay.

[33] Josh Ellis went a perfect 12–0 in 2003,[33] despite knee injury suffered in a PLD football game, and was named Kentucky's Mr.

[citation needed] The boys placed second in 2007 to Henry Clay High School in a loss by 3 points.

[37] In the 2011 season, the Dunbar lacrosse team broke a 7-year streak of losses to Lexington Catholic in the second round of the state tournament.