The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achievement),

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

, service, and

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

. The National Honor Society requires some sort of service to the community, school, or other organizations. The time spent working on these projects contributes towards the monthly service hour requirement. The National Honor Society was founded in 1921 by the

National Association of Secondary School Principals The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is a national organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 ...

. The Alpha chapter of NHS was founded at

Fifth Avenue High School Fifth Avenue High School is a defunct school located at 1800 Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Bluff neighborhood, United States. Built in 1894 as a large Romanesque/Gothic Revival building, it served the Pittsburgh Public Schools until ...

by Principal Edward S. Rynearson in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. National Honor Society groups are commonly active in

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...

activities both in the community and at the school. Many chapters maintain a requirement for participation in such service activities. In addition, NHS chapters typically elect officers, who, under the supervision of the chapter adviser, coordinate and manage the chapter as a student organization.

Membership

Over one million students are estimated to participate in the National Honor Society. NHS and NJHS chapters are found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, many U.S. territories, and Canada. They can also be found in areas of Asia; Pakistan has three schools, each maintaining an active chapter. Furthermore, they can be found in international and American schools throughout the globe.

Motto

The NHS motto is ''

noblesse oblige ''Noblesse oblige'' (; ; literally “nobility obliges”) is a French expression from a time when French (more specifically, Anglo-Norman) was the language of the English nobility, and retains in English the meaning that nobility extends beyo ...

'' (French: "nobility obligates"). The ''

Dictionnaire de l'Académie française The ''Dictionnaire de l'Académie française'' is the official dictionary of the French language. The Académie française is France's official authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language, although its recommendations ...

'' defines it thus:

# Whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly. # (Figuratively) One must act in a fashion that conforms to one's position, and with the reputation that one has earned.

Scholarship

Since 1946, the National Honor Society has given out more than

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

15 million in scholarship awards. In the 2018-19 school year, 600 awards were to be distributed, including 1 National Winner ($25,000), 24 national finalists ($5,625 each), and 575 national semifinalists ($3,200 each).

Parent and sister organizations

National Junior Honor Society The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is an international student organization that consists of chapters in middle schools (in the range of grades 6-9 depending on the school). The NJHS was founded by the National Association of Secondary Sc ...

* National Elementary Honor Society * National Student Council

References

{{Reflist

External links