It was founded in 1998 by Maltese politician and educator Yana Bland and named after Pulitzer Prize-winning[10] American writer Katherine Anne Porter.

The school has been said to "foster a love for learning, creative thinking, and community involvement"[13] and features numerous afterschool activities and clubs.

[14] The school claims to be nondiscriminatory on the basis of "race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic identification, political affiliation, or disability in matters affecting employment,"[15] and students there have been said to be "very aware of environmental issues.

"[13] KAPS was founded in 1998 by Yana Bland with the stated goal to "nurture students' interests, foster an appreciation for learning, enhance community responsibility, and to advance peace and human rights."

"[4] In 2000, an art student purportedly painted an image featuring two men kissing as part of a larger mural in a common area at KAPS.

Later, a meeting of the school faculty was held in which all 23 members at the time claimed to be in favor of preserving both the homoromantic image and the mural as a whole.

The mural is purported to have been "conceptualized" by Grady Roper, a former art teacher at KAPS, and to have also contained "Satanic" imagery and depictions of violence, on the subject of which Yana Bland claimed, "Most of the staff felt that ... the mural ... was inappropriate," and that "the [B]oard [of Trustees] was unanimous in feeling it was inappropriate for the school."

[11] On March 16, 2020, soon after state emergency was declared in Texas due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, school was set to be closed until April 5.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which included the song "Invincible," co-written by Dylan and performed by Aminé, was nominated for "Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.