It is named after Mel Carnahan, the 51st Governor of Missouri who served from 1993 to 2000, when he died in a plane crash.

Carnahan High School of the Future sits in Dutchtown bordered by a park, a business district and a residential area.

In 2011, the school was visited by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Governor Jay Nixon.

[2] Carnahan ranked 43rd among Missouri High Schools.

CHF has also sent a team to the Global Hack VI, an international computer coding competition and one of only 3 in SLPS to do.