National Honor Society
The National Honor Society was established by the National Association of Secondary School Principals in 1921, with the purpose to recognize outstanding high school students. More than just an honor roll, NHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.
Four main pillars have guided chapters of NHS from the beginning: to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership and to develop character in the students of secondary schools. These pillars also translate into the criteria used for membership selection in each local chapter.
Invitation, Selection & Induction Process
Please be aware that criteria for Spring 2023 admission to the Madison East HS Chapter of the National Honor Society are NOT the same as for the Spring 2021 or 2022 criteria. Criteria were significantly modified in 2021 and 2022 to reflect pandemic-related restrictions on community activity, particularly during the period of March 2020 to September 2021.
| Selection Criteria | Spring 2023 |
|---|---|
|
Cumulative GPA |
3.5 or above |
|
Extra Curricular Activity |
3 or more school-based extracurricular activities (clubs, sports, etc.) during HS career, with at least one in each of years 10,11,(12) or at least 2 in each of years 11, (12) |
|
Volunteer Service Hours |
45 or more hours, dating from June 15th after 8th grade and no later than March 1st of application year (11th or 12th grade). Starting Spring 2024, at least 10 of the 45 hours must be in direct service to the school/student body. Examples: peer tutoring, teaching assistant, childcare during parent meetings, presenting at school assemblies, school beautification efforts, etc. |
|
Faculty Rating Score |
Average of 3.5 or above on a 5-point scale (Only faculty who know the student personally may complete ratings.) |
Invitations to the East High School chapter of the National Honor Society
Juniors or Seniors who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above at the end of their first semester will receive an invitation via email to apply to NHS. (Seniors who are already members do NOT need this invitation.) Invitations will be emailed to students after the first semester grades have been posted. Receiving an invitation does not guarantee admittance; during the course of the complete application process, interested students must demonstrate that all criteria noted above have been met.
NOTE: Membership in the National Honor Society DOES NOT COST ANYTHING. There are similarly-named private organizations which often contact high-achieving students and offer "membership" or listing on some form of "honor roll" in exchange for payment of a fee. Students and families may make their own decisions about these offers, but we wish to make it clear that any honor society invitation which requires a membership fee is NOT coming from East High School.
Application Deadline & Materials
All students who apply to NHS must have ALL of the following completed by March 1 of the Selection Year, at 4:00 p.m.
- At least the minimum number of service hours completed and properly documented (follow STEP ONE and STEP TWO of Volunteer Hours Verification Process below)
- NHS Student Application-- Google Form --these are lists of activities and brief personal statements separate from the Volunteer Hours documentation
- NHS Faculty Evaluations--Students are not responsible for individually obtaining faculty evaluations, but they are welcome to personally encourage teachers from grades 9-11 (or 12) who are familiar with their work to participate in the school-wide NHS Faculty Survey
Qualifying Volunteer Hours Information
A minimum of 45 documented service hours is required for application to East’s chapter of NHS for the Spring of 2023. Please note that, although NHS acknowledges the educational and community value of all students’ extracurricular commitments, time spent in activities which result in direct material benefit to the student can not be counted as community service. (For example, hours at a paid summer internship, or time spent fundraising for a trip that students will be taking themselves will not count. Programs which raise general funds in addition to student support funds may receive either full or partial hour allowances and are considered on a case-by-case basis via direct communication between the NHS selection committee and program supervisors. ) Under no circumstances can a close relative (parent/guardian/grandparent/aunt/uncle etc.) provide a signature for verification of community service.
Volunteer Hours Verification Process
STEP ONE: Students should fill out the NHS Service Hours Spring 2023 - STUDENT FORM for each separate organization they volunteered for.
STEP TWO: Students should then provide the supervisor of each separate organization they volunteered for with the link to the NHS Service Hours Spring 2023 - SUPERVISOR VERIFICATION FORM (to copy the link, hover over the name of form, then right click and copy the link, paste the link into an email to the supervisor)
Induction & Maintaining Membership Status
If selected by the faculty committee for induction, students will be invited to participate in a late April or mid-May induction ceremony. Once inducted, National Honor Society members will be expected to attend meetings for the remainder of their high school career, complete NHS sponsored service projects and adhere to the written National Honor Society Code of Conduct.
NHS meetings have traditionally been scheduled only once a month, as members typically are active with other student organizations on a weekly basis.