In order to be eligible for NHS selection at Cleveland High, a student must:
Students who meet these requirements receive an invitation to participate in the selection process.
You must excel in ALL four areas.
1. SCHOLARSHIP: A minimum of 3.8 cumulative weighted GPA is required to apply
2. SERVICE: Completed 30 Hours of community service on a volunteer basis for a non-profit organization
3. LEADERSHIP - Held at least one leadership since 9th grade
4. CHARACTER - Submit 2 teacher recommendations and submit your essay
** In addition, you must also:
(If you only have one activity per year, please continue to fill out the application and show in detail what the activity includes.)
Please note: Students are NOT automatically selected for NHS membership based on scholarship (grades) alone! Students are selected to join our chapter based on outstanding performance in four criteria set forth by the National Honor Society:
A Faculty Council consisting of five (5) classroom teachers is responsible for evaluating students who wish to become members. The Faculty Council is appointed by the Principal each year. The NHS Advisor is a sixth, non-voting member of the Faculty Council.
Students who choose to participate are asked to complete and submit an application This information will allow the Faculty Council to make objective, professional decisions regarding selection of candidates based on the four criteria of NHS.
Once the Faculty Council has selected students for membership, students are notified in writing of their selection status. Students will receive a letter regardless of whether they are selected for membership or not.
For those students who are selected for membership, an induction ceremony is held in which selected students officially become members of our chapter. Participation in the induction ceremony is mandatory for all new members.
Cleveland High School has two (2) selection periods each year:
Selection Criteria:
SCHOLARSHIP:
In order to be eligible for NHS selection at Cleveland High, a student must have a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.800. Students who meet this requirement are invited to complete a student information form which allows the Faculty Council to evaluate their performance in the other three areas.
Please note:
CHARACTER:
The NHS Handbook defines a student of character as one who
In order to evaluate a student's character, the Faculty Council reviews school discipline records, student essays, and two (2) teacher recommendations submitted with the student information form.
School discipline records are reviewed for all infractions of school rules. Minor discipline issues will not automatically prevent a student from being selected, but they will be factored into the Faculty Council's decision.
The student essay is a required part of the student information form.
Teachers are requested to complete recommendations for students interested in joining NHS. The teachers are selected from a list of classroom teachers who have taught a student for an entire semester, preferably within the past year (2 semesters). Teacher recommendations are only completed by teachers in academic areas, and no member of the Faculty Council is allowed to complete a recommendation. Students are allowed to request that specific teachers complete their recommendations.
LEADERSHIP:
The NHS Faculty Council understands that not all students are able to hold leadership positions (such as being an officer in a club), due to the limited number of available positions, so we have a very broad definition of leadership. In order to meet leadership requirements, students must show evidence that they REGULARLY and CONSISTENLY demonstrate leadership skills, such as:
Students do not have to show evidence of ALL of these skills - they just have to show leadership potential by demonstrating that they have SOME of these.
On the student information form, students are asked to describe specific situations in which they regularly and consistently demonstrate these specific skills. These could include activities from church, other school groups, scouts, or even work. Students can include offices they hold in other organizations (such as being a club officer or a representative on a church youth council), but it isn't necessary for a student to hold an office in order to demonstrate some leadership skills. The most important thing is that they REGULARLY and CONSISTENTLY demonstrate these skills - it can't be just an isolated incident, but something they have done many times.
Please note that all leadership activities must be verified with the signature of the supervising adult. Parents may only verify those activities for which they were the ONLY adult present.
SERVICE:
NHS is primarily a service organization, so service is one of the most important criteria for selection. Students who wish to be selected for membership must already be involved in service activities through other organizations either at school or elsewhere in the community. According to the NHS Handbook, a student who serves:
On the Student Information Form, students are asked to list all service activities in which they have participated since beginning 9th grade AND the number of hours they spent doing each activity. Students may include activities completed individually or through other organizations such as those listed above. Students may NOT include activities that were required for a class (such as graduation project) or activities for which they were compensated (paid) in any way.
Please note that all service activities must be verified with the signature of the supervising adult. Parents may only verify those activities for which they were the ONLY adult present.
A student may also be invited to join CvHS NHS chapter upon transfer from another school in which he/she was in good standing with the NHS chapter there. This is subject to review by the Faculty Council.