The National Honor Society chapter of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows High School is a duly chartered and affiliated chapter of this prestigious national organization. Membership is open to those students who meet the required standards in four areas of evaluation: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Students are selected for membership by majority vote of a five-member principal-appointed faculty council, which bestows this honor upon qualified students on behalf of the faculty of our school each spring.

Students in grades 10th-12th are eligible for membership. For the scholarship criterion, a sophomore student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or better on a 4.0 scale; junior and senior students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale. Each spring those students who meet this criterion are invited to complete a Candidate Form that provides the faculty council with information regarding the candidate’s leadership and service.

To evaluate a candidate’s character, the faculty council uses two forms of input. First, school disciplinary records are reviewed. Second, members of the faculty are solicited for input regarding their professional reflections on a candidate’s service activities, character, and leadership.

The faculty council will carefully review all completed candidate information forms and solicited faculty input information. A majority vote of the council is necessary for selection. Candidates are notified regarding selection or non-selection by mail.

Following notification, a formal induction ceremony is held at the school 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.

Non-selection into the chapter does not mean a candidate may not be eligible again the following year. Candidates who are not selected are encouraged to continue to strive to achieve academic success as well as success in the equally important pillars of character: including service, leadership, and character.

Following notification a non-selected candidate may schedule a written request to schedule a formal meeting with the chapter advisor. This written request must be made within one week from the date in which non-selection notices were mailed. All records from the selection process will be retained for the approved time frame of two weeks before being destroyed.

If a written request is made to meet with the chapter advisor the advisor shall contact the candidate to schedule this meeting. During this meeting it is the role of the advisor to help the candidate identify activities and actions and in which they may choose to strive for in order to demonstrate the pillars of service, character and leadership. The advisor is a non-voting member of the faculty council and their role according to national organization constitution is to advise any student who wishes to make strides to become a member of the chapter.

Should a member feel they wish to appeal the ruling of the faculty council the following guidelines will be followed: Submission of all relevant information to the principal who consults with the faculty council and/or adviser regarding the decision. The principal has the final say regarding appeals for non-selection at the school level.