 From 2013 to 2018 the school had 17.2 fights per 100 students, a rate higher than other HISD zoned schools.According to HISD's teacher appraisal system the percentage of teachers at the school ranked as "needs improvement" or "ineffective" was 37% for the years 2011-2016, among the highest of any HISD school, while the overall HISD average was 16%.A mural that was installed in 2016 in the library as part of the schoolwide renovation depicts the history of Sunnyside and Alma Allen and Rodney Ellis, two state-level politicians from Sunnyside; it was made by Class of 1999 alumna Marye Dean, born and raised in Sunnyside and resident in the State of New York as an attorney.