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National Honor Society

The National Honor Society is a club which is commonly found in schools throughout the nation, and which is intended to honor scholarship, leadership, service and character. Students who join it in September work toward a criterion which, if they meet it, will allow them to be formally inducted into the organization at a ceremony in March. Learn more below!

Need to submit hours? Volunteer Hours Form

Need to check your progress? Send me an email to be added to the spreadsheet: celine.farrimond@phoenix.k12.or.us!

View the Chapter Charter

Download an Induction Application

Requirements for Induction:

Students are eligible to join if they meet a specific criterion. This minimum criterion is mandated by the NHS national organization. To get involved, applicants must:

  • Be of sophomore, junior or senior class standing; freshmen are not eligible.
  • Have a 3.0 overall gpa.
  • Be enrolled in at least five courses per quarter.
  • Have completed at least a full semester at the high school prior to joining the program (this mostly affects homeschoolers and exchange students).
  • AP/Honors/Advanced Classes Requirement

Inductees must meet the minimum required AP/Honors or equivalent courses – sophomores need to have completed one AP/Honors course, juniors two, and seniors three by the time of their application for induction. Any course with an ‘AP’ or ‘Honors’ designation will work. Also acceptable are Advanced English 10, Physics, pre-Calculus and Calculus. All other courses – including pre-AP – will not meet this requirement. 

  • Service Hours

For induction to the NHS, students will be required to document at least 30 hours of volunteer service. Of the completed hours, at least 7 of each should be in each domain:

(1) School-centric service hours

(2) School-based club/activity hours which bridge the school/community divide

(3) Community-centered service hours, which support the community.

Students may begin to accumulate Community-based service hours starting June of each year. They may amass them during the summer and/or during the school year. School Centric service hours must be amassed on campus during the school year. Below is a clarification of each.

    • School-centric service hours: these are volunteer hours which support the school’s mission statement and school improvement plan. Examples may include… 
      • Tutoring struggling students in after-school ASAP or during Advisory. 
      • Offering designated time at lunch to tutor students.
      • Active involvement in the Student-Mediation program 
      • Using a radio, monitor sections of campus during your non-scheduled class and report anything suspicious. 
    • School-based club/activity hours which bridge the school/community divide: this must be volunteer service in which the student represents the high school activity in a manner which is highly visible to the community. Team fundraisers may count provided it is a unifying community event (a run or parade, not a carwash or selling fireworks). Examples may include…
      • Supporting the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital fundraiser
      • Assisting with an American Red Cross Blood Drive 
      • Participating in Relay-for-Life to raise money to combat cancer 
      • Helping with sports team or club events which support community cohesion and promote the school due to their high visibility. 
      • School-related events which fundraise for the Sparrow 
    • Community-centered service hours: this must strictly benefit some aspect of the community. In working in the community, the student is not overtly representing their school, club or activity. Examples may include… 
    • Volunteering with Community Works, Mediation Works, Dunn House (battered women’s shelter), Help Line or Crisis Line 
    • Cleanup of or planning an improvement to the community cemetery.
    • Feeding the homeless. 
    • Helping with Special Olympics 
    • Some activities through Scouts and church or youth groups may fit in this domain, provided the community – not a congregation – is benefitted.

*Note: The following will NOT count toward service hours: (1) anything for which you are normally paid, (2) volunteering for a class or being a student aide, (3) working your job for free, (4) involvement in a school/community/church musical or play, (5) campaign efforts for a candidate for elected office (clarification: partisan activities will not count; get-out-the-vote will count toward hours), and other similar experiences. ALL volunteer experiences need to be authorized by the Program Coordinator. 

  • Sport/Activity Participation

To be inducted, you must participate (be a regular member of the program who attended all required activities) in 4 qualifying programs. These include any sports, school sanctioned or student led clubs and activities.