[4] The school serves the El Sereno and University Hills communities, and areas of City Terrace and Ramona Gardens.

It is near the Ascot Hills park, the neighborhood of Hillside Terrace, and the Multnomah Street Environmental Science Magnet.

The new 37-acre campus and buildings were constructed between 1968–1969 and designed by the renowned African American architect Paul Revere Williams.

It was an engineering challenge to excavate over one million cubic yards of earth to re-grade the hilltop and to use 3,500 tons of structural steel for the main buildings.

The new Wilson High was the first LAUSD school to implement multi-floored buildings equipped with elevators and escalators to accommodate students with disabilities.

The Mexican American community had the highest high school dropout rate and lowest college attendance among any ethnic group.

Feelings of oppressive conditions coupled with the inability to make changes compelled students, activists, and teachers to meet and discuss the situation.

"[10][11] Funds for Los Angeles public schools were allocated based on the number of students in class each day.

[11] The incident which prematurely triggered the blowouts was when Wilson High principal Donald Skinner canceled a student production of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, citing it as too risqué for a Mexican American audience.

[11] The walkouts or blowouts, which began with the March 1, 1968 walkout at Wilson, are credited as seminal events of the Chicano Movement:[10][11] "The blowouts resulted in the gradual beginning of various reforms, including bilingual education, Chicano studies, more emphasis on academic subjects, more encouragement of Mexican American students going to college, and more Mexican-American teachers and administrators.

Many problems continued – and still do – but what had changed was the consciousness of Chicanos both among students and in the community concerning the need to fight for educational justice.

"The National Trust for Historic Preservation publishes an annual list spotlighting important examples of the United States' architectural and cultural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage.

His teams were notable for an unconventional offense, heavily dependent on passing with four receivers and one running back which was difficult for traditional defenses to stop.

At the time, the Los Angeles City Interscholatic Athletic Committee investigated the matter and called both coaches to testify.

[19] Lincoln began the season with 33 players, but 1 was shot to death, 8 left the school due to racial tension, 4 were age ineligible, and at game time 2 others were injured.

Thus, he consulted with the Lincoln principal who was also in attendance and together they told the officials that as a matter of health and safety they needed to stop.

In 2015, Woodrow Wilson High School served as a television series filming location with both exterior and interior shots used in the production of Fear the Walking Dead.

[23] The AMC series pilot and early episodes of Fear the Walking Dead involved characters that worked and attended the fictional "Paul R. Williams High School."

[25] The school's California API (Academic Performance Index) score was 562 for 2006, and of its student population, 77% were in a Free/Reduced Lunch Program and 30% were designated as English Learners.

[26][27] After Wilson became a magnet school and part of the International Baccalaureate program (see below), more recent data from 2015[28] show improvements.

[29] (The API score was abolished in March 2017 and replaced with the California School Dashboard, thus more recent comparisons of this type are no longer possible.)