Yates has HISD's magnet program for communications: broadcast TV, radio, print, and photography.

[4] In 2010, Paul Knight of the Houston Press wrote that "the school remains a symbol of solidarity in the Third Ward.

"[5] In June 2016, members of the Jack Yates and HISD communities held a ground-breaking ceremony for the new campus.

In 1925, HISD originally proposed to have the school built for $100,000 (about $17373814.04 when accounting for inflation), but Richardson opposed this plan, prompting the district to revise the bond.

[12] As a result of the overcrowding the Southern Association of Secondary Schools pulled Yates's accreditation.

William G. Ouchi, author of Making Schools Work: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need, wrote that due to the loss of the middle and upper class students, Yates "fell on hard times.

In 1989 Chester Smith, the principal, prohibited the school newspaper from publishing a story about a pregnant student.

Worthy also established additional Advanced Placement courses and removed a Cleaning and Pressing Program.

[11] In 1997, a geographic area south of Interstate 45 was rezoned from Austin High School to Yates.

In response a parent and alumnus of Yates quoted in a 2003 The New York Times article, Larry Blackmon, stated that "Absolutely, positively, no way.

[22] In 2006, Houston mayor Bill White proclaimed February 7 as "Jack Yates Senior High School Day.

"[23] In 2007, a Johns Hopkins University study commissioned by the Associated Press cited Yates as a "dropout factory" where at least 40% of the entering freshman class do not make it to their senior year.

Because of this problem, there were movements to have the state or another organization take over the schools for a period so the test scores would be at acceptable levels.

[25] In a 2005 Houston Chronicle article Bill Miller, president of the Yates High School Parent-Teacher-Student Association, criticized the decrease in enrollment.

[27] In June 2015, Ericka Mellon of the Houston Chronicle wrote that members of the Third Ward community had "concerns about leadership turnover, weak academic performance and safety problems" and were "vocal with its frustrations at Yates".

[31] Residents in the area stated opposition against a proposal to remove Guillory, and the HISD board of trustees decided to retain her as principal.

[46] Yates has HISD's magnet program for communications: broadcast TV, radio, print, and photography.

[50] In 2010, Paul Knight of the Houston Press reported that, "no high school basketball team in the state and perhaps the country has played better than Yates.

[5] In March 2010, Yates' boys basketball team was ranked number one in the nation by USA Today having defeated their opponents by margins of 135, 115, 99 (twice), 98, 90 and 88 points.

Despite a 100-12 halftime lead, the Lions stayed true to their pressing and trapping style, which did not sit well with Lee head coach Jacques Armant.

[citation needed] Jacques Armant, the basketball coach at Lee High, criticized the mass scoring, saying that it could cause violence.

[12] In 1939, Yates coach Andrew "Pat" Patterson asked principal William S. Holland to meet with E. B. Evans, the president of Prairie View A&M University, to discuss regulating American football played by black schools and establishing a football league for them.

[49] Historically the American football game between Yates and Wheatley High School was among the most prominent ones in the United States.

[56] The rivalry declined after Yates joined the UIL, and after the football leagues integrated the Thanksgiving Day Yates-Wheatley game ended.

[49] Yates lost to Lake Highlands High School in the 1981 Texas state American football championship game.