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Membership Criteria

Scholarship:

Current or rising 8th graders: Forbes Middle School students who have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 90 percent or higher in their seventh grade classes meet the scholarship requirement and are eligible for consideration for induction into NJHS during the eighth grade on the basis of service, leadership, character, and citizenship. They must have been a student in GISD for at least one semester prior to starting eighth grade. 
 
Current or rising 7th graders: Forbes Middle School students who have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 92 percent or higher in their sixth grade classes meet the scholarship requirement and are eligible for consideration for induction into NJHS during the seventh grade on the basis of service, leadership, character, and citizenship. They must have been a student in GISD for at least one semester prior to starting seventh grade. 

Leadership:

The student who exercises leadership: 

  • Is resourceful in proposing new problems, applying principles, and making suggestions
  • Demonstrates initiative in promoting school activities
  • Exercises positive influence on peers in upholding school ideals
  • Contributes ideas that improve the civic life of the school
  • Is able to delegate responsibilities
  • Exemplifies positive attitudes
  • Inspires positive behavior in others 
  • Demonstrates academic initiative
  • Successfully holds school offices or positions of responsibility; conducts business effectively and efficiently; demonstrates reliability and dependability
  • Is a leader in the classroom, at work, and in other school or community activities
  • Is thoroughly dependable in any responsibility accepted
  • Is willing to uphold scholarship and maintain a loyal school attitude.
Leadership experiences can be drawn from school or community activity while working with or for others.
 

Service:

Service is generally considered to be those actions undertaken by the student which are done with or on behalf of others without any direct financial or material compensation to the individual performing the service. In considering service, the contributions this candidate has made to school, classmates, and community, as well as the student’s attitude toward service can be reviewed.
 
The student who serves:
  • Volunteers and provides dependable and well organized assistance, is gladly available, and is willing to sacrifice to offer assistance
  • Works well with others and is willing to take on difficult or inconspicuous responsibilities
  • Cheerfully and enthusiastically renders any requested service to the school
  • Is willing to represent the class of school in inter-class and inter-scholastic competition
  • Does committee and staff work without complaint
  • Participates in some activity outside of school, for example, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, religious groups, volunteer services for the elderly, poor, or disadvantaged
  • Mentors persons in the community or students at other schools
  • Shows courtesy by assisting visitors, teachers, and students.

Citizenship:

The student who demonstrates citizenship:
  • Understands the importance of civic involvement
  • Has a high regard for freedom, justice, and respect of the American form of government (representative democracy)
  • Demonstrates mature participation and responsibility through involvement with such activities as Scouting, community organizations, and school clubs

Character:

Character is probably the most difficult criterion to define. The Faculty Council should consider the positive as well as the negative aspects of character. All judgments in this and other selection criteria should be free of speculation and rumor.

National Junior Honor Society is a member of the Character Counts! Coalition. Through this activity, the society supports and recommends the use of a multi-faceted definition of character known as the “Six Pillars of Character.” A person of character demonstrates the following six qualities: respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

In addition, it can also be said that the student of character:
  • Takes criticism willingly and accepts recommendations graciously
  • Consistently exemplifies desirable qualities of behavior (cheerfulness, friendliness, poise, stability)
  • Upholds principles of morality and ethics
  • Cooperates by complying with school regulations concerning property, programs, office, halls, etc.
  • Demonstrates the highest standards of honesty and reliability
  • Regularly shows courtesy, concern, and respect for others
  • Observes instructions and rules, is punctual, and faithful both inside and outside the classroom
  • Has powers of concentration, self-discipline, and sustained attention as shown by perseverance and application to studies
  • Manifests truthfulness in acknowledging obedience to rules, avoiding cheating in written work, and showing unwillingness to profit by the mistakes of others
  • Actively helps rid the school of bad influences or environment.

SELECTION PROCESS

The five-member Faculty Council, appointed by the principal, is responsible for the selection of all new members as well as the disciplining of existing members of the chapter. The selection process is supervised by the chapter adviser(s) who sit as non-voting members of the Faculty Council. Selection is by a majority vote of the Faculty Council.

Prerequisite conditions for Selection

  • Students must be in eighth or seventh grade 
  • Current 8th grade students must have a GPA of 90% or higher for their seventh grade year
  • Current 7th grade students must have a GPA of 92% or higher for their sixth grade year
  • According to the national NJHS Constitution, only those students who have attended the school the equivalent of one semester may be considered for membership.

The Procedure

The Faculty Council of the Chapter selects students who demonstrate outstanding performance in all five criteria of scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship, and character. The Faculty Council first identifies students with the prerequisite GPA and then evaluates each candidate’s performance in the areas of leadership, service, citizenship, and character.

While the academic criterion is important and is considered first, membership is never decided on the basis of grades alone.

Once the students who possess the prerequisite GPA have been identified, they are asked to submit a Student Activity Information form detailing their service, leadership, citizenship, and character. Faculty evaluations may be used to support the strength of a student’s candidacy in the areas of service, leadership, citizenship, and character. In the event of a low rating on one of the evaluations, the reasons for such a rating are verified, in order to avoid the “speculation and rumor” concepts mentioned elsewhere in this document. To avoid questionable entries on faculty evaluations, all evaluations are signed, and each evaluator is asked to support any below-average rating with substantiating data based on sound professional judgment and action. Anonymous faculty evaluation forms are not considered. The advisers serve as a link between the Faculty Council and the evaluators, and may conduct informal interviews with those teachers who provide the below-average ratings. Evaluations bring to the attention of the Faculty Council information that may not otherwise be represented on the Student Activity Information forms. Upon reviewing the evaluations and verifying their accuracy, the Faculty Council is still required to undertake a vote on each candidate, selecting each student who receives a majority vote. As with the Student Activity Information Forms, faculty evaluations are considered working documents to assist the Faculty Council in making sound decisions regarding membership. These evaluations are used only by the Faculty Council, the adviser, and the principal and are considered confidential.
 

NOTIFICATION OF INDUCTEES

Those students selected and their parents are notified promptly and personally by the principal, chapter adviser or letter. Additional pertinent information outlining some of the duties, responsibilities or obligations of membership in the National Junior Honor Society is included with the letter or shortly after in a society meeting.