The National Honor Society (NHS) is a co-curricular high school student organization with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create interest for scholarship, to recognize outstanding students, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership. Membership in local NHS chapters is bestowed upon a student by a Faculty Council and is based on the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, character, leadership, and service.
History The National Honor Society (NHS) was established on March 1, 1921, by Edward Rynearson, a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), which is the parent organization of the NHS. Rynearson, then the principal of Fifth Avenue High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, envisioned an organization that would balance academics and athletics while emphasizing the role of high schools as a foundation for democracy. Prior to the establishment of the NHS, numerous local and regional honor societies existed, but the NHS was the first organization of its kind with a national scope.
Since its inception, the NHS has expanded significantly, with over 17,000 active chapters across the United States and beyond.
In 1929, the NHS furthered its reach by introducing the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) for middle school students. This expansion was complemented in 2008 with the creation of the National Elementary Honor Society, a collaboration between the NASSP and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), aimed at elementary school students.
The NHS operates through a decentralized model, granting autonomy to local chapters for innovation and adaptation within the framework of the NHS National Constitution. This approach allows chapters to address specific local needs while adhering to the overarching principles of the organization.
The operational management of the NHS is overseen by the NASSP, with strategic guidance provided by the NASSP Board of Directors. This structure ensures the continuity of Rynearson's vision and the organization's impact on students' lives.
Symbols The four pillars of NHS are scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Its colors are blue and gold.
Chapters National Honor Society chapters operate in all fifty states, territories, and many schools around the world, engaging and serving more than 1.4 million students.
Activities Each year, the average NHS chapter contributes: 1,000 hours of school/community service $26,000 in charitable donations 1,000 pounds of food to local, state, and national causes Since 1946, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has awarded more than $23 million in scholarships to outstanding NHS seniors. Each year, NASSP awards $2 million in scholarships to 600 students, including one National Winner ($25,000), four NHS Pillar Winners ($10,625) 20 national finalists ($5,625 each), and 575 national semifinalists ($3,200 each). Scholarship recipients are selected based on their demonstration of the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, service, leadership, and character.
Sister organizations National Junior Honor Society National Elementary Honor Society National Student Council
Notable members Pope Leo XIV
Arts +NameChapterStateAlda, AlanSt. Thomas More High SchoolNYBesterman, DougRamapo High SchoolNYBodett, TomSturgis High SchoolMIBradley, DavidBedford High SchoolPACameron, PeterCastlemont High SchoolCACavett, DickLincoln High SchoolNECobb, Lee J.Redford High SchoolMICouric, KatieYorktown High SchoolVACrawford, CindyDeKalb High SchoolILDavis, JimMadison-Grant High SchoolINEstefan, GloriaOur Lady of Lourdes AcademyFLFarr, JamieWoodward High SchoolOHFey, TinaUpper Darby High SchoolPAFrancis, ConnieBelleville High SchoolNJGangemi, JosephConcord High SchoolDEGoldberger, PaulNutley High SchoolNJGross, MichaelKelvyn Park High SchoolILGuy, JasmineNorthside High SchoolGAHarold, ErikaUrbana High SchoolILHenson, JimNorthwestern Senior High SchoolMDLachey, Vanessa MinnilloBishop England High SchoolSCLynds, GayleAbraham Lincoln High SchoolIAMangione, ChuckFranklin High SchoolNYMorris, SarahHutchison SchoolTNPhillips, StoneParkway West High SchoolMORogers, FredLatrobe High SchoolPAStewart, JonLawrence High SchoolNJStreep, MerylBernards High SchoolNJSwift, TaylorHendersonville High SchoolTNUnderwood, CarrieChecotah High SchoolOKVinton, WillMcMinnville High SchoolORVoight, JonSt. Thomas More High SchoolNYZindel, PaulPort Richmond High SchoolNY
Education/Science/Business +NameChapterStateAllen, JosephCrawfordsville High SchoolINBastian, BruceTwin Falls High SchoolIDBobko, KarolBrooklyn Tech High SchoolNYCerullo, LeonardHazleton High SchoolPADole, ElizabethSalisbury High SchoolNCIacocca, LeeAllentown High SchoolPAKeith, LeroyHoward School of Academics and TechnologyTNMcGuire, PatriciaMerion Mercy AcademyPAMcMonagle, DonaldHamady High SchoolMIMorava, JackMercedes High SchoolTXPenzias, ArnoBrooklyn Tech High SchoolNYPlunkett, RoyNewton High SchoolOHQuinn, Jane BryantNiagara Falls High SchoolNYResnik, JudithFirestone High SchoolOHSilkwood, KarenNederland High SchoolTXWhitson, PeggyMount Ayr High SchoolIA
Politics/Military +NameChapterStateActon, AmyLiberty High SchoolOHAgrast, MarkCharles F. Brush High SchoolOHBattani, MarianneTuscola Community High SchoolILBingaman, JeffSilver High SchoolNMBlock, JohnKnoxville High SchoolILBrown, JoanneNotre Dame High School GUChiles, LawtonLakeland High SchoolFLCohen, WilliamBangor High SchoolMECorzine, JonTaylorsville High SchoolOHFord, Gerald R.Grand Rapids South High SchoolMIGabriel, Charles A.Lincolnton High SchoolNCGonzalez, FelixRiverside Military AcademyGAGray, William H.Simon Gratz High SchoolPAGriffin, Marc L.Beech Grove High SchoolINHastings, William C.Newman Grove High SchoolNEHinojosa, RubenMercedes High SchoolTXJackson, Henry "Scoop"Everett High SchoolWAKirkpatrick, JeaneMt. Vernon Township High SchoolILMartin, KevinCharlotte Catholic High SchoolNCMcKernan, John R.Bangor High SchoolMEMiller, RobertBishop Garmon High SchoolNVRobinson, MichelleWhitney Young High SchoolILMoffard, RoseGlobe High SchoolAZRodham, HillaryMaine South High SchoolILSpade, DouglasCamden-Frontier High SchoolMISullivan, MikeDouglas High SchoolWYTrail, JeffreyDeKalb High SchoolILYellowtail, WilliamLodge Grass High SchoolMT
Sports +NameChapterStateAikman, TroyHenryetta High SchoolOKAtwater, SteveLutheran High School NorthMOBell, EarlJonesboro High SchoolARBelote, MelissaRobert E. Lee High SchoolVAEverett, JimEldorado High SchoolNMFitzgerald-Brown, BenitaGar-Field High SchoolVAGilbert, GaleRed Bluff High SchoolCAGlenn, MikeCoosa High SchoolGAGrogan, SteveOttawa High SchoolKSHoying, BobSt. Henry High SchoolOHHuber, VickiConcord High SchoolDEJansen, DanWest Allis Central High SchoolWIKing, LillyF. J. Reitz High SchoolINKinnick, NilBenson High SchoolNELucas, JerryMiddletown High SchoolOHMonroe, HenryBen C. Rain High SchoolALMulkey, KimExeter Turnpike High SchoolPARipken, Cal Jr.Aberdeen High SchoolMD Source:
See also Honor society High school fraternities and sororities
References
External links National Honor Society