In 1872, the Atlanta Public Schools commenced operations with seven schools, including Girls High. In 1924, the city opened a new Girls High facility in Grant Park. In 1947, the Atlanta Board of Education moved to community high schools and transitioned the Girls High building into Roosevelt High School. Roosevelt High served as a community high school to Grant Park and surrounding neighborhoods from 1947 until 1985.

The school's current campus opened as Southside High School in 1985 on the site overlooked by the former Girls High / Roosevelt High. Southside consolidated the former Roosevelt High and the former Hoke Smith High. In 1988, nearby East Atlanta High School closed, with East Atlanta students rezoned to Southside. In 2005, Southside's boundary expanded further on the transition of Kirkwood's Alonzo A. Crim from a comprehensive high school to an open campus. In the summer of 2008, the school was renamed Maynard H. Jackson High School to commemorate the city’s first black mayor. 

In the summer of 2012, the school relocated temporarily to the campus of Coan Middle School for a 13-month renovation.

Students returned to the original Grant Park location on January 8, 2014, for the spring semester. The $48.3 million renovation included a rooftop community farm and garden, a renovated auditorium, a new softball field, and new classroom corridors.

In 2013, Jackson High School was awarded the status of International Baccalaureate World School and continues to serve as a beacon of success for stuents in the City of Atlanta.