It is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati and is named after Archbishop Karl Joseph Alter.

Alter High School's faculty is composed of diocesan priests of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Sisters of Charity of Mount St. Joseph, and lay teachers.

The school provides AP classes, which offer the prospect of college credit as well as a weighted grade.

They may also work on college résumés and applications in the lab and along with the guidance office was responsible for the $15,500,000 full and partial academic, athletic and arts scholarships generated by the Class of 2014.

In addition to their musical support and performances at football games, the band also appears at festivals and in parades in the community.

[3][4] The Marching Knights typically field a membership of 35 students, but see success on the national scale despite their size.

Since 2009, the band has made annual trips to the BOA Grand National Championships in Indianapolis (excepting 2020, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic), and have seen increased success during that span.

In 2022, the Marching Knights won Class A at the Bands of America Grand National Championships with their show "Overjoyed", which featured the music of Stevie Wonder.

[citation needed] *Semi-Finals Appearance Winter Guard shows: WGI Winds In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Alter's theatre program grew into its own department with additional classes and very impressive productions.

Several shows since 2001 have brought first and second place state awards in categories of Group Musical, Solo, Lighting, Sound, Design, Duet and Playwrighting, including How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Teahouse of the August Moon, Anything Goes and Cabaret.

This due to strong support from the community and administration and a tradition of excellence over the years by theatre directors Bob Heman, Trace Crawford, Bryan Wallingford, Katie Arber, and (currently) Megan Wean-Sears.

Another unique facet of the program is Alter's Thespian Troupe (#5802), a chapter of an international organization dedicated to the celebration of achievement in theatre arts education.

The Lancerettes are an all female non-competing team lead by Cynthia Duckro Jecker,[7] a graduate of the school in 1994.

[9] Archbishop Alter High School's team nickname is the Knights; their colors are brown and gold.

A tradition of dress up "themes" for each of the home football games has developed as a fun display of school spirit.