National Honor Society

In 1921, the NASSP officially established the National Honor Society. Though many local and regional honor societies existed prior to 1921, no nationwide organization had been founded. Under the leadership of Dr. Edward Rynearson, principal of the Fifth Avenue High School, Pittsburgh, Pa., the organization grew from the original Alpha Chapter at the Fifth Avenue School to more than 1,000 chapters by 1930. Equipped with a constitution, an emblem and motto, and a group of dedicated principals as coordinators, the new NHS organization quickly developed into one of the country's leading educational groups. 

Four main purposes 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." (from the NHS Constitution) These purposes also translate into the criteria used for membership selection in each local chapter. 

In 1929, the NASSP turned its attention to middle level schools and expanded the scope of its concern for recognizing outstanding students by establishing the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS). With its own constitution and handbook, NJHS has established criteria that parallel the emphases found in the NHS with an added purpose to encourage citizenship. (Additional information on establishing a chapter of the NJHS is available upon request from the NASSP Department of Student Activities.) 

Both the NHS and NJHS are sponsored and supervised by NASSP which appoints a National Council - the controlling body of NHS. In addition, National Council members also serve as the selection committee for the prestigious NHS Scholarship which has been administered annually in schools with NHS chapters since 1946. 

The day-to-day administration of NHS national concerns is handled by the NASSP Department of Student Activities, headquartered in Reston, Va.

National Honor Society is a member of the Character Counts! Coalition.  Through this activity, the society supports and recommends the use of a multi-faceted definition of character known as the “Six Pillars of Character.”  A person of character demonstrates the following six qualities: respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship.  Schools are encouraged to take this model, modify it to meet their local needs, and utilize it frequently in the work of their chapter.    

In addition, it can also be said that the student of character:

“Members should understand fully that they are subject to dismissal if they do not maintain the standards of scholarship, leadership, service, and character that were used as a basis for their selection.” (National Membership Guidelines)

At the end of each marking period, cumulative grades of NHS members will be reviewed to ensure that each member is maintaining the required minimum 90% cumulative unweighted GPA (unrounded percent).

If a member should fail to maintain this average, a three-step process is immediately initiated:  

• An academic warning will be verbally given by the chapter adviser. 
• If the student’s average is not brought up to the required 90% by the next report period, the member will be placed on probationary status. Written notification will be provided by the adviser to the student and Faculty Council. During this probationary period, the NHS member is required to attend peer tutoring weekly and to make clear effort to improve grades. The student must submit copies of interim reports to the adviser to verify improvement.    
• If, after two consecutive marking periods, an NHS member does not attain the required 90% cumulative average, the member must meet with the Faculty Council to discuss further action up to and including dismissal. Written notification of the date, time and location of the meeting will be provided to the student in advance.  Rulings of the Faculty Council shall be provided to the student in writing within five school days of the meeting.

In addition to scholarship, students must also continue to demonstrate proficiency in service, leadership, and character by remaining an active member of NHS.  According to the National Office and our Chapter Constitution, an inactive member is one who does not fulfill basic NHS requirements of maintaining membership. Examples of this include not attending at least 50% of the mandatory NHS meetings, not attending or volunteering at at least 50% of NHS sponsored events or fundraisers (such as Tutoring and WIN Time Breakfast), not fulfilling 20 individual service hours, and not being in contact with the advisor or NHS President after missing said meetings, events, or deadlines. Thus, one in this standing doesn’t obtain the privilege to receive an active NHS member asterisk next to his/her name in the graduation bulletin, nor does he/she have the privilege to include “NHS” as an accomplishment or club on a school or job resume or application.

Fulltime PSEO students are the only exemption from these requirements, but a PSEO student should still be in contact with the advisor or president after missed meetings and still needs to fulfill their 20 individual hours and 10 NHS event hours.

If a member should fail to remain an active member of NHS, a three-step process is immediately initiated:

• An written warning will be given by the chapter adviser. 
• If the student’ fails to show evidence of active participation in the above mentioned requirements, the member will be placed on probationary status. Written notification will be provided by the adviser to the student and Faculty Council. During this probationary period, the NHS member is required to meet with the adviser within a two week window of receiving written warning to develop a plan of restitution. The student must submit copies of a restitution plan to the adviser to verify improvement. 
• If an NHS member fails to comply or verify improvement in status, the member must meet with the Faculty Council to discuss further action up to and including dismissal. Written notification of the date, time and location of the meeting will be provided to the student in advance.  Rulings of the Faculty Council shall be provided to the student in writing within five school days of the meeting.

Selection to the National Honor Society is a privilege awarded to selected students based on criteria established by the local chapter in compliance with national guidelines.  Students do not apply for membership in the National Honor Society; instead, they provide information once invited to be used by the local selection committee (Faculty Council) to support their candidacy for membership.  This is not an election, nor is membership automatically conveyed simply because a student has achieved a specified level of academic performance. 

The Faculty Council will evaluate each candidate's qualifications for membership in the following manner:

• Eligible students (Sophomores and/or Juniors with a minimum 3.8 weighted cumulative GPA) are invited to apply in trimester 2 and will be provided application materials by the chapter advisor(s).*
  • *no further consideration of academics is permitted under NHS guidelines.
• Some criteria that must be met in order to be considered for induction are as follows:
  • Honors Courses:
    • 10th grade applicants must have taken 5 or more honors/AP courses between 9th and 10th grade.
    • 11th grade applicants must have taken 7 or more honors/AP courses between 9th, 10th, and 11th grade.
  • Service Hours:
    • 10th grade applicants must have completed 10 hours or more between 9th grade and the time of application (these hours may include the required Civics hours)
    • 11th grade applicants must have completed 15 hours or more between 9th grade and the time of application (these hours may include the required Civics hours)
    • These hours will be verified at the time of the application
• Candidates are responsible for completing all sections of the application (incomplete applications will be given NO further consideration).
• All completed applications must be turned into the chapter advisor(s) by the application deadline.  No extensions will be granted.
• The Faculty Council meets to consider each application for membership.  The following process will be used to evaluate each applicant:
  • The criteria of Leadership, Scholarship, Character, and Service are evaluated using a rubric.
  • The Faculty Council deliberates on the merits of each applicant's leadership, scholarship, character, and service as provided in the student application packet and the rubric is completed on each applicant.
  • A vote is taken on each candidate after all rubrics and discussions are complete.  Membership will be offered to those candidates receiving a majority vote by the five member Faculty Council.
  • All decisions are final.
• All candidates are notified in writing of the results of their selection process.
• Applicants who are selected for induction into the NHS and their families are invited to participate in the induction ceremony in mid-to-late April or early May.

If you are a student who has transferred to Andover High School from a different school district and have questions about your eligibility, please see an NHS advisor for more information.

Maintaining Membership in NHS

Once selected into the Andover National Honor Society Chapter, students must fulfill the following criteria to maintain an active membership status in NHS.  Failure to meet these criteria may result in probationary status or removal from the Andover NHS Chapter.

• Maintain a minimum of a 3.7 weighted cumulative GPA or show a high continuation of honors and AP level courses
• Maintain 20 or more service hours within the school year (these can be completed through NHS service opportunities offered throughout the year)
• Members must attend the NHS meetings (1 meeting before school per trimester).  Meetings will start promptly at 7:00 am.  Attendance is required.
  • If a student is unable to attend the meetings for any reason, this must be communicated to the NHS advisor prior to the meeting.  Doctor, dental, and other appointments should be scheduled around these meetings as there are only 3 per year.
• If a student is placed on probationary status, the student will have one trimester to work alongside the NHS coordinator to redemonstrate fulfillment of NHS requirements.