James Monroe High School is a public high school in Rochester, operated by the Rochester City School District.
James Monroe High School, located on Alexander Street at the corner of Pearl Street, was completed and occupied as a Junior high school in September, 1923. In June; 1924, the first Junior high school graduation exercises were held, and because of crowded conditions at East High School, it was decided to retain tenth-year pupils in the school for at least a year. In 1926 it was permanently agreed that the school would be a Junior-senior high school; and the cafeteria was erected on the site of the old No. 15 School adjacent to the playground. The total cost of the school was $1,410,059.88, and of the cafeteria addition, $111,642.40. The building was known as Monroe Junior High School, 1923âÂÂ1926; as Monroe High School, 1926âÂÂ1931; as Monroe Junior Senior High School, 1931âÂÂ1935; as Monroe High School, 1935âÂÂ1988; Monroe Middle School, 1988âÂÂ2005; and returned to a Junior-Senior high school in 2006. The building will transition to a high school, grades 9-12, September 2024.
The stone and brick structure features Greek columns and a pediment on the main facade.
On December 6, 2025 the Monroe Red Jackets became the first school in Rochester City School District history to win a state football title.
On March 7th, 2026 the Monroe Red Jackets broke an 80 year drought and won the Class A Basketball Sectional Title ,Defeating Wayne 49-47. This also made Head Coach Terell Cunningham the first coach in Rochester NY to win a Football State Championship and a Sectional title in Basketball in the same year. Also making history was Monroes lead assistant Kason â KiD â Morrison , being the first coach to win a sectional title with both the Boys and Girls ( The Aquinas Institute ) in 2024,respectively .