National English Honor Society

Sponsor: Mrs. Ragsdale

Membership in NEHS is by invitation, extended through a local chapter on behalf of the national organization. Membership in NEHS is an honor bestowed on individuals selected for their accomplishments in the field of English and in overall academic achievement.

The NEHS Constitution sets forth as minimum requirements for active membership the following:

• attendance at the school the equivalent of one semester prior to being considered. (If special circumstances merit, the Faculty Advisory Council may waive the semester regulation);
• completion of the equivalent of two semesters of English prior to induction as members;
• the achievement of a minimum overall and English grade point average of a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) prior to induction as members; and
• submission and payment of the new member enrollment via NEHS Connect.

These criteria may be raised, but not lowered, by the local chapter, but criteria must be based solely on demonstrable academic matters.

The National English Honor Society (NEHS), founded and sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, is the only international organization exclusively for secondary students and faculty who, in the field of English, merit special note for past and current accomplishments. Individual secondary schools are invited to petition for a local chapter, through which individuals may be inducted into Society membership. Immediate benefits of affiliation include academic recognition, scholarship and award eligibility, and opportunities for networking with others who share enthusiasm for, and accomplishment in, the language arts. 

America's first honor society was founded in 1776, but high school students didn't have access to such organizations for another 150 years. Since then, high school honor societies have been developed in leadership, drama, journalism, French, Spanish, mathematics, the sciences, and in various other fields, but not in English. In 2005, National English Honor Society launched and has been growing steadily since, becoming one of the largest academic societies for secondary schools.

As Joyce Carol Oates writes, "This is the time for which we have been waiting." Or perhaps it was Shakespeare: "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer . . ." we celebrate English studies through NEHS.

The NEHS motto, "gelast sceal mid are," is Old English for: "duty goes with honor." The motto represents one of the earliest forms of our language—it affirms and celebrates an obligation to use one's gifts in service to others. Service to peers, school, and community is part and parcel of the NEHS mission—and, indeed, in the grammatical structure of the Old English phrase, "duty" actually precedes "honor."