In February 1994 Wake County officials asked the Wake County School Board to provide a school for the southeastern area of Raleigh; its teaching should focus on math, science, and technology.

The name change came with a new initiative on the part of former principal John Modest to encourage students through school activities to develop strong leadership skills.

Since its opening many concepts pioneered at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School have been implemented throughout Wake County, including block scheduling and senior graduation projects.

Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School originally was built to serve 1,699 students, but has added 16 mobile units (trailers) to increase that number to 2,083.

They are members of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and compete at the 4A level for all sports, classified as 4-single-A for the purposes of football playoffs.