It serves the city of Keene and the surrounding towns of Chesterfield, Harrisville, Marlborough, Marlow, Nelson, Stoddard, Sullivan, Surry, Westmoreland and Winchester.
[1] Teacher Kelly Budd was recognized in 1999 as a winner of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards for work that included a ninth-grade unit on The Holocaust that culminated in a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. for the entire freshman class.
[4] The Drama Club has won multiple Theatre at the Mount Youth (TAMY) awards for its musicals.
[6] Keene High School's Dave Minickiello retired in 1999 after 31 years as the school's wrestling coach, having led the team to nine state titles and a New England crown, having coached seven New England individual champion wrestlers and winning more than 60 New Hampshire state championships.
The Drama Club puts on two shows a year: one musicals in the fall, and one straight play held in the spring.
The Keene High School quiz bowl team has competed on Granite State Challenge, progressing to the semi-finals in the twenty-ninth season.
[citation needed] The team placed first in the state in both the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 competitions of Knowledge Master Open.
In the fall of 2010, Keene High students participated in a "One Book One Read" program to help in the prevention of bullying.
In the spring of 2007, Holocaust survivor and author David Faber gave a presentation to the entire student body regarding his experiences in Nazi Germany.
[10] During the 1992 presidential primaries, future president Bill Clinton spoke at the school and entertained questions from selected students.
[citation needed] During the 1976 primaries President of the United States Gerald Ford spoke at Keene High School, in his efforts to stave off an incipient challenge from Ronald Reagan.
[11] United States Senator George McGovern spoke at the school during the run-up to the 1972 Democratic New Hampshire primary, in his ultimately successful bid to win the party's nomination for president.