Located at 1610 N. 8th Street,[8] the current architecturally significant complex began with its Art Deco core in 1937, but has been repeatedly expanded.

The segregated Sumner High School closed in 1978, converting at that time to its present high-challenge magnet program.

Charles Sumner had been very strong abolitionist and a leader of the Radical Republicans who had fought for the rights of the black people during Reconstruction.

[10] In 2003, Sumner won a prestigious national award – Sumner Academy received the U.S. Department of Education's NCLB – Blue Ribbon Schools Award for its scores on the Kansas state assessments, making it just one of four schools in Kansas to earn the distinction.

In 2004, Sumner received a "Great IDEAS" grant (funded/sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Fund) for the 2004–05 school year, which encourages teachers in SLC (Small Learning Communities) to work together to develop innovative programs and projects to improve student learning.

The Blue Ribbon Award recognizes public and private schools which perform at high levels or have made significant academic improvements.

One factor responsible for Sumner Academy's rigorous academic standing is its participation in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program which is based on a 5.0 scale.

In November 2008, the Sumner Academy football team made it to the Kansas State playoffs for the first time in a decade.

[citation needed] In February 2008, Sumner Academy senior wrestlers Jerry Cox and Malcolm Sharp placed at state.

[14] Sumner Academy has won four Kansas State High School Activities Association boys basketball championships, which were in 1998, 2000, 2010, and 2011.

[16][17] Radotinsky's design features the Art Deco style in vogue at the time for federally sponsored public works.

The most striking element is the central streamlined entrance tower, which provides visual focus while housing the heating units, air intake chambers and associated filters.

The growing impact of European modernism can be seen in the massing of the structure; David H. Sachs and George Ehrlich particularly cite the influence of Willem Marinus Dudok, a Dutch architect best known for the Hilversum City Hall (Raadhuis, 1931).

In turn, Dudok had borrowed extensively from Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, particularly in terms of brickwork and the massing of geometric forms.

[18] There have been a number of expansions to the campus complex since this original elegant building was erected:[16] In 2010, a new wing was added to include all new technology.