National Honor Society

Students in grade 11 are eligible for membership. An invitation to apply for NHS membership depends on the scholarship criterion: GPA of 3.75 or better at the completion of 2nd trimester of junior year. Those students who meet this criterion are invited to submit an application and a personal statement. Detailed requirements for each of these items are outlined in the invitation.

Students are selected to be members by a Faculty Council, appointed by the Activities Director, which bestows this honor upon qualified students on behalf of the CDH faculty each April. Council membership varies from year to year, and is confidential.

This information, along with students’ disciplinary records, will be carefully reviewed by the Faculty Council to determine membership. A majority vote of the Council is necessary for selection. Candidates are notified of selection or non-selection according to a published predetermined schedule.

Students who wish to appeal the decision of the Council must do so in writing to the Activities Director by the published deadline. Students should address any areas of weakness regarding the four criteria in their appeal. The Faculty Council will reconvene to review appeals.

Following notification, a formal induction ceremony is held to recognize all the newly selected members. Once inducted, new members are required to maintain the same level of performance (or better) in all four criteria that led to their selection. This obligation includes regular attendance at chapter meetings during the school year, participation in the chapter service project, completion of a minimum of 25 hours of service before the beginning of the next school year, and completion of an additional 50 hours of service by the beginning of April the following year. 

Membership in the National Honor Society is a privilege, not a right. Students may be dismissed from NHS for major disciplinary infractions, a drop in academic performance, lack of attendance at monthly meetings, or failure to complete the required service hours. Students who fail to meet the requirements will be warned and given time to improve. The Faculty Council, along with administration, will determine whether dismissal is appropriate. This decision may be appealed. Members who resign or are dismissed are never again eligible for NHS membership.

Students or parents/guardians that have questions regarding the selection process or membership obligations can contact the NHS adviser, Mr. Steven Tacheny, at stacheny@c-dh.org.

Tips for Candidates

1. Do not miss the deadline. NO LATE MATERIALS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
2. Provide adult supervisor names and contact info to substantiate all of your claims of service. Your parents should only sign items in which they were directly involved. Under no circumstances should you forge signatures. If someone is totally unavailable, write an explanatory note.
3. All materials submitted to the Faculty Council must be an honest and accurate portrait of you, free of exaggeration or invention.
4. Note: To be eligible for consideration for membership, candidates must have spent at least two trimesters at CDH.