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The first black high school was not established until 1935. Mr. Motten served as the first teacher. Classes were held in the Parsonage of the Second Baptist Church.

The Washington School was built in 1936. The building complete with modern facilities replaced the one-room frame structure and relieved crowded conditions of the grade school. The high school moved into the Washington School building in 1938.

Nellie Preston was the first black student to obtain a high school diploma in Monroe City.

The high school stayed open for ten years before it closed in 1948. The school district then bussed students to Hannibal to the Douglas School.

In the 1955-56 school year the high school students joined the Monroe City High School in compliance with integration laws. The Washington Grade School stayed open until 1963.

Principals of the High School were: Mr. Motten, D. W. Gerrian, Mr. January, Mrs. J. H. Major. Hiawatha Crow was the last principal, from 1956 until its closing in 1963. Mrs. Crow then joined the Junior High School staff in Monroe City until she retired in 1974.