[6][7] In 1999, Walnut Hill won the National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education under the leadership of Principal Jo Anne Hughes.

[8] The school's academic performance reached record highs in 2018 after three years of significant growth under the transformational leadership of Principal Robert Chase McLaurin and was nominated for the 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award for Exemplary Performance.

[9] In 2019, exactly two decades after earning its first National Blue Ribbon; Walnut Hill was honored with the rare distinction of a second National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education As of 2019[update] the school building had been destroyed by a tornado, so students were temporarily relocated to another school.

[12] By 1937, the new building had been constructed at a cost of $30,000, with some assistance from the Texas division of the Public Works Administration (PWA).

[14] In Fall 2006, the attendance boundaries changed, with a portion of the former Walnut Hill zone being rezoned to Withers.

[10] DISD considered developing a new school building on the site,[17] making it K-8 and having it be a part of the 2020 bond.

[17] In February 2020 Wayne Carter of NBC DFW stated that the students adjusted well to the temporary campus.