Adopted April 1, 2014
Amended February 12, 2020

ARTICLE I: Name and Purpose

Section 1: The name of this chapter shall be the Central Valley Academy Chapter of the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools.

Section 2: The goals of this chapter shall be to 1) create an enthusiasm for scholarship; 2) stimulate a desire to render service; 3) promote worthy leadership; 4) encourage the development of character in the students of CVA, both within its members and within the communities at large.

ARTICLE II: Membership

Section 1: Membership in this chapter is an honor bestowed upon deserving students by the faculty, and shall be based on the criteria of scholarship, service, leadership, and character.

Section 2: Eligibility

a. Candidates eligible for election to this chapter must be members of the sophomore, junior or senior class.

b. To be eligible for selection to membership in this chapter, the candidate must have been in attendance for a period of one term at CVA.

c. Candidates eligible for selection to the chapter shall have a minimum cumulative, un-weighted GPA of 90. This scholastic achievement shall remain fixed, and shall be the required minimum level of scholastic achievement for admission to candidacy. All students who can rise in scholarship to or above such standard may be admitted to candidacy for selection to membership.

d. In addition, seniors with a minimum cumulative un-weighted GPA of 88 will be eligible.

e. Upon meeting the grade level and GPA standard requirements, candidates shall be considered based on their service, leadership, and character.

f. Transferring memberships from other established chapters of the National Honor Society will be accepted with a letter of status from the chapter adviser(s) and/or the principal from the school in which the candidate is transferring from.

ARTICLE III: Selection of Members

Section 1: Eligibility for application is determined based on the sophomore or junior having a cumulative grade point average of 90 or the senior having a cumulative grade point average of 88. This will constitute a letter being sent home inviting students to complete an application for membership in the CVA Chapter of the National Honor Society. Letters are typically mailed home February. The selection process will be completed by mid-March.

Section 2: The selection process is based on a point scale. Students receive points for their academics, involvement in school organizations and clubs, their work experience, their community service, and leadership roles. The application also includes a short essay, which applicants write about their core values and beliefs.

Section3: The final decision on applicants’ membership status will be made by the Faculty Council. All applications will be scored, and a raw score will be assigned to each applicant. The Faculty Council will then determine what the membership cut off will be for each grade of applicants (one score for current sophomores, juniors and seniors). The students who have a raw score above that cut off will be offered membership in the CVA Chapter of N.H.S.

ARTICLE IV: Obligations of Members

Section 1: Duties and Responsibilities of the Organization – The CVA Chapter of National Honor Society has as its duties and responsibilities a high level of service to the community, a history of quality leadership, and the highest level of character and personal responsibility. It has, as part of its purpose, creating enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulate a desire to render service within the school and the community, promoting leadership and encouraging the development of the highest level of character, both within its members and within the community at large.

Section 2: Duties and Responsibilities of the Officers – See information under each officer position description in Article V.

Section 3: Duties and Responsibilities of the Members – Members are expected to attend all monthly meetings and participate in all required service projects (see Article VIII for additional information on meeting attendance). Members are expected to represent themselves as responsible members of N.H.S. at all times, whether in school, at school-related events, or within the community. Failure to do so could constitute disciplinary action by the Faculty Council and subsequent removal and cancellation of membership.

Section 4: Duties and Responsibilities of the Advisors – The N.H.S. advisors will facilitate, with the help of the Faculty Council and CVA administration, an organization that has the highest standards of leadership, service, scholarly effort, and character. The role of the advisor(s) is to advise the Faculty Council in the best possible decision making for the chapter. The advisor(s) will approve all service projects and will serve as the communication link between students and the Faculty Council. The advisor will be responsible for issuing all letters concerning, but not limited to the following items: 1) attendance issues; 2) academic probationary issues; 3) all other violations of membership obligations, including issues of questionable character in regards to any or all of the aforementioned matters. The advisor(s) are a non-voting party and do not issue any voting on things like membership status or membership selection.

The advisor(s) are simply in place to “advise” the chapter and to act as a means of communication between the chapter members and the Faculty Council.

ARTICLE V: Officers

Section 1: The National Honor Society officers shall be: President, Vice-President of Membership, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section 2: NHS officers may be representatives of either the senior or junior class, except for the President. The President will be selected from the currently serving juniors with a separate application process. The President will always be a senior and will have served at least one year in NHS prior to their selection to the role of President. All other officers can be either senior or junior members and do not necessarily have to have completed a year of service prior to their selection to serve on the Executive Council. Representatives of the junior class who serve as officers may be asked to assume leadership roles during their second (senior) year in NHS.

Section 3: Officers (with the exception of President) shall be elected at the first membership meeting of the school year.

Section 4: Officer Job Descriptions:

The following duties should reflect the responsibilities developed for officers in the CVA Chapter.

1. It shall be the duty of the President to preside over the meetings for the CVA Chapter.

2. The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the president and shall also keep a record of members’ contributions to leadership and service.

3. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of meetings and be responsible for all official chapter correspondence.

4. The Treasurer shall keep the record of chapter expenses, dues, and all other financial

ARTICLE VI: Faculty Council

Section 1: The faculty council shall consist of 5 voting staff members appointed from the selection committee by the principal. No principal may be included on the faculty council.

Section 2: The chapter advisor shall be ex-officio, non-voting members of the selection and faculty council.

Section 3: The selection committee shall meet at least once per year to select members. The faculty council shall meet when necessary to consider non-selection, dismissal, other disciplinary actions and warning cases.

ARTICLE VII: Advisor

Section 1: The advisor shall be responsible for the direct supervision of the chapter.

Section 2: The advisor will maintain files of membership, history, activities, and financial transactions.

Section 3: The advisor will review each member for compliance with Society standards.

Section 4: The advisor will help the chapter officers understand and carry out their duties.

ARTICLE VIII: Meetings

Section 1: Regularly scheduled chapter meetings shall be held once a month.

Attendance at all chapter meetings is required. A student will be marked “absent” for a meeting if they do not arrive.

Section 2: The first chapter meeting of each school year shall be held no sooner than the second week of school and no later than the fourth week of school.

Section 3: Additional chapter meetings may be called by the chapter president with the approval of the faculty advisor. Those additional meeting dates will be made available to chapter members at least a week in advance of the newly scheduled meeting.

Section 4: When a member will miss a meeting or does not participate in a National Honor Society sponsored function, it is the member’s responsibility to turn in an excuse to the NHS faculty sponsors prior to the absence, when possible. In the case of illness, the student needs to see the faculty advisor(s) within 5 school days to receive meeting minutes and/or other pertinent information.

ARTICLE IX: Activities

Section 1: There shall be at least one fall and one spring project.

Section 2: There may be money-making projects as necessary to raise funds for service projects, initiation ceremony, gifts to school, etc.

Section 3: All members must complete a minimum of five community service hours that are approved by the chapter advisors and the High School Principal.

ARTICLE X: Discipline and Dismissal

Section 1: Academic Standards:

A. National Honor Society members are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 90 or higher during their membership in N.H.S. Failure to maintain the required GPA will result in the member being issued a letter detailing the academic requirements and will be given one quarter (or the remainder of the quarter in cases where the GPA falls during a quarter) to bring their grades up to meet the chapter’s standards. At the end of the probationary period, if a student has not achieved the required GPA, they will be issued another letter and their membership status will go before the Faculty Council, at which time the Council may decide to extend another quarter of probation or may decide to cancel the student’s membership. The council will take into consideration the type and rigor of classes that are being taken by the member when making their decision as to whether to extend a probationary period or cancel the membership. Students are also expected to maintain their academic honesty – cheating is considered academic dishonesty, and may call into question your continued membership in the National Honor Society.

Section 2: Attendance Violations:

A. All instances of attendance shall be brought before the Faculty Council. After the third unexcused absence members will be issued a letter informing them of their exact number of absences, as well as the procedures for subsequent unexcused absences. After the 4th absence, the member will receive another letter informing them that their membership status will be sent before the Faculty Council. The member will have an opportunity to inform the Faculty Council, via the chapter advisors, as to any reasons or extenuating circumstances surrounding the absences and the Faculty Council will ultimately make the final decision whether to extend a probationary period or to cancel the student’s membership.

B. If the Faculty Council issues an extended probationary period after the 4th unexcused absence, on the 5th unexcused absence a student’s membership may be cancelled with no additional warning.

Section 3: Student Conduct and Character : A National Honor Society member is a leader of CVA and must display the proper citizenship skills and character, as well as the responsibility that goes along with their membership. They are representatives and role models for the school and the community. National Honor Society members found violating ANY of the following items may up for immediate consideration of dismissal and may they may be dismissed from the chapter.

A. Usage or possession of tobacco, alcohol, or any other drug

B. Vandalism to school property

C. Theft

D. Bullying (including bullying via social networking sites)

E. Fighting on school property and/or whenever representing the school

F. Other criminal acts not specified in this policy

G. Other such actions that may bring dishonor to the National Honor Society or to the school, including academic dishonesty/cheating.

Section 4: The Faculty Council is to remain anonymous for all of the selection and discipline of members. The members of the faculty council may rotate from year to year, if there is a need. According to the National Constitution, the council is expected to have longevity of members in order to provide consistent decision making for, and guidance to the chapter. For the purposes of the CVA chapter of the National Honor Society, a “hearing before the Faculty Council” will constitute a student with a discipline or dismissal issue presenting their case or reasons for their continued involvement in the National Honor Society to the chapter advisor(s), and the advisor(s) will then pass that information verbatim, with no personal opinions or inflections, along to the Faculty Council for their decision.

ARTICLE XI: Dues

Section 1: Annual dues will only be paid if need is shown and will not exceed $20 per year.

Section 2: Membership will not be denied to anyone who is unable to pay the annual dues.

Section 3: Monies received from the collection of member dues shall be used for N.H.S. business exclusively.

ARTICLE XII: Amendments

Section 1: These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Faculty Council and shall fall under the National Constitution of the National Honor Society guidelines.