F A Q s

(Scroll to the bottom to read a letter from Mrs. Rachel Janzen, an advisor to the Omicron Kappa Chapter in WA and OR.)

What are the goals of NHSHS?

To equip home educated students with the resources to succeed in applying for scholarships, writing resumes, entering College, and attaining achievement.

To promote good academic discussion on culturally relevent subjects.

To provide high achieving homeschool students with a venue for meeting and networking.

To encourage academic achievement among homeschoolers.


How do I know if I am eligible to join NHSHS?

Eligibility: Students may apply as early as the spring of their 8th grade year. High School seniors’ applications will not be accepted after Jan.31 of the senior year. Membership is open to all students who qualify. The following are requirements of the national organization:

1. A certificate of home school eligibility, signed by the applicant’s parent/legal guardian, certifying the student to be at least 51% home educated as defined by National Home School Honor Society organization...

2. A 3.5 GPA based on a 4.0 scale. This GPA may include the parent transcript, early admission college courses, co-op or support group class grades, or similar coursework supervised/directed by the home educating parent/guardian.

3.  The national student requirements include 90% on a standardized test such as the IOWA, MAT, or Stanford 10 test (excluding the CAT or Terra Nova tests), 1800 on the SAT, 26 on ACT, or 180 on PSAT. The test must be administered by a neutral tester not a parent.

4. Process of Application: Applicant’s criteria can be mailed or presented to sponsors at a meeting for verification.

5. Members must attend quarterly meetings. Every effort will be made by the co-sponors to offer five meetings per traditional school year (Sept-May).Excuses should be e-mailed or phoned in to the President or one of the sponsors in advance.

6. Prospective members may visit one time and have that visit count toward the quarterly attendance requirement should they decide to join. At the student's second visit, they will need to purchase from the Treasurer/New Members Co-ordinator the required NHSHS manual for the going rate. Only one manual per family need be purchased, as the member is free to copy the manual for additional siblings who are active members.BRING THE MANUAL TO ALL REGULAR MEETINGS.

7. Members must also serve for 10 hours in service projects annually, either with ESA or independently. Hours will be turned in to the officers at the last meeting of the school year.


What are the positions that elected officers hold?

Positions Job Descriptions:

President: Oversees and conducts chapter and officer meetings, supervises the implementation of society programs and bylaws.

Vice President: Assists president in duties and acts as counsel; conducts meetings in the absence of president, supervises accountability of officer’s duties.

Secretary: Records attendance and business of meetings in a professional format, publishes these minutes, sends email updates to membership, keeps updated roster.

Treasurer: Keeps records, handles monetary transactions, suggests items for students to purchase from the national website.

New Members Coordinator: Greets new members, Assembles, establishes price and distributes chapter notebooks, communicates with prospective members.

Historian: Photo journalist for chapter, keeps records by taking photos and creating a labeled scrapbook.

Public Relations: Markets the chapter to various local home school organizations including co-op classes, Basic Skills Assessment Services, community web pages and forums, local churches and support groups, and seeks ways to recruit new members

Webmaster: Maintain website/blog: add material as needed such as dates of chapter meetings, student reviews of events, photos, and scholarship and leadership information.

Community Service Chair: Coordinate community service events with the chapter and charity organization. Keep records of attendance and encourage students to get their required 10 hours of service/year. Collect and turn in these student records to advisers at last meeting.

Ambassador: Organizes thank you notes for guest speakers, get-well cards for members, facilitates shared meal set-up, and coordinates end of the year Awards Ceremony.

Sergeant at Arms: Aids in parking, set-up and tear-down, and a smooth transition between meeting and shared meal.

Parliamentarian: Work with officers to understand proper Parliamentary Procedures in running business meetings and officer meetings.


Are there other Homeschool Honor Societies in Oregon?

If you live in the Central Oregon area, the Oregon High Desert Chapter of the National Homeschool Honor Society meets in Bend. Theta Chapter - Bend, OR --- Annette Owen-Clontz - aec615@aol.com

Does the Honor Society conduct any activities besides meetings?

Honor Society members have enjoyed volunteering at Birch Community Services and Ronald McDonald House Charities in the past.


Honor Society Gives College Bound Students Opportunities
 By Rachel Janzen


Where can I get help to prepare for college? What is the big deal about
leadership? How do I find scholarships? What is the PSAT anyway and why should I
care? These are questions home school parents have been asking for years and now there
is a place to find answers. The National Home School Honor Society, with chapters in
Bend and Portland, is here to help.
Since home school students are not allowed admittance into the National Honor
Society for public and private schools, an enterprising mom decided to take action.
Twelve years ago, she started the first chapter of the National Home School Honor
Society in Texas – Eta Sigma Alpha – www.etasigmaalpha.com. There are now 282
chapters in 43 states, including the Omega – online – chapter for students who live in
remote areas. The national student requirements include 90% on a standardized test
such as the TerraNova, IOWA, 180 PSAT, or 1800 SAT. Similar to the National Honor
Society, it is more than just an honor roll, but serves to honor those students who have
demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.
Though legal, home education and some public and private schools are not
accredited, yet, our students compete with every other local high school student for
scholarships, internships, and jobs. “Brick and mortar” high schools have clubs, teams,
and organizations for students to learn leadership skills and run for an office. However,
most home schoolers do not have these opportunities and connections. Consequently,
an organization like the honor society not only helps to verify and affirm academic
accomplishments, but provides leadership training and scholarship information as well.
Leadership experience is a question on nearly every college, military, and scholarship
application and as a member of an honor society, student’s work together on assignments
to help build their portfolios. A heart warming side benefit is making new friends!
The Omicron Kappa Chapter is also called the Willamette Valley Chapter because
it includes families from Southwest, WA to Corvallis, OR. Its mission
is equipping high achieving home educated students for success in college, community,
and career in a Christ honoring atmosphere. Students learn leadership by serving as
officers and run the meetings using business models including agendas and Roberts Rules
of Order. Each meeting usually includes a student inspirational devotional, leadership
presentation and scholarship presentation. Officers plan about seven opportunities to
meet the required attendance of four meetings/year including a service day, awards
ceremony and social event.
So, where do families go to get help with college preparation? You will find
many answers in your local honor society.
If you have further questions please feel free to contact our student New Members Coordinator at
anneemrud@gmail.com or check out our blog at www.homeschoolhonor.blogspot.com.