[2] The "Temple Colored School" was established in 1885, and in 1912 a two-story building was erected with eleven classrooms, a science lab, and a principal's office.

She remembered receiving second-hand textbooks from Temple High School and being shocked by how black senators were depicted in the social studies books.

The Dunbar Panthers football team was coached by Curtis B. Elliott, and they won the state championship in 1939.

[citation needed] The Temple High School theater department is a program with a 30-year streak as district UIL One-Act Play champions.

As of the end of the 2017 football season, the school is ranked fourth behind Highland Park, Amarillo, and Plano in the state of Texas for total games won with 753.