Nearly 150 years old, Sacramento High School takes pride in being the first public high school in Sacramento and the second oldest public high school west of the Mississippi River. Sacramento High School opened on September 1, 1856, with 39 students - 21 boys and 18 girls. Superintendent Hatch, Reverend William H. Hill, Dr. J. F. Morse, and Dr. W. G. Deal delivered the first address. Mary Hurd and Mary Morgan were the first graduates in 1864.

The original Sacramento High School was located at 8th and M Streets. The school site moved several times before construction began at the present location in 1922. Other sites of Sacramento High School include 5th and K Streets (where it remained for only 2 and a half months) and Armory Hal at 6th and L Streets.

The doors opened at the current location in the fall of 1924. Because it was the only high school in Sacramento, it was quite large. The two-storied brick buildings anchored by a tall clock tower had to be large in order to accommodate an enrollment of 4,000 students. With the opening of C.K. McClatchy High School, Sacramento High School's student body split in half, an action which initiated the friendly rivalry the two schools share to this day.

The annual Thanksgiving Day football game between the two schools was, for a long time, one of the best attended events in Sacramento. As part of the friendly rivalry between these two schools, the 'victory bell' was added as a trophy to the school winning the 'Turkey Day' game. In keeping with tradition, the bell is displayed on the campus of the winning school.

Despite its storied history, Sac High was designated as one of 24 failing high schools in 2002 due to continuously decreasing student test scores and, as a result, ceased operating on June 30, 2003. However, on September 2, 2003, St. HOPE Public schools began operating a new charter school comprised of five small schools on the same site and under the same name serving more than 1,600 students in grades 9-12. The new Sacramento High School is founded on years of rich traditions and heritage. The school proudly maintains the Dragon name, colors and unrivaled school spirit while injecting new energy into academic and extracurricular activities.