Randallstown High School National Honor Society

The National Honor Society is a selective service organization available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors that have earned a cumulative 3.0 unweighted GPA through the freshman, sophomore or junior year. If selected for membership, students are then required to complete 6 hours of service per year towards the betterment of RandallstownH.S. NHS is an honorable distinction and the selection process is adhered to in a strict manner.

National Honor Society Selection Process

In order to be considered for selection, students must complete the RHS National Honor Society Applicationaccurately and completely and submit it to the NHS Sponsor by the stated deadline. No late applications will be accepted. Students must obtain an application from the NHS Sponsor so that the student’s GPA can be verified prior to being given an application.

Selection Criteria-

Once students have submitted an NHS Application, the selection process begins. All students with a cumulative unweighted GPA of 3.0 are invited to complete an application. The application process occurs one time per academic school year. If a student chooses not to apply in a particular year, they may apply the following year. If a student is not selected after the application process, they may reapply the following year as long as they have an unweighted 3.0 cumulative GPA.

As part of the application process, students must select two current teachers to provide feedback on the candidate. Those Teacher Recommendation Forms must be returned directly to the NHS Sponsor. Information on the Teacher Recommendation Forms will remain confidential and will only be seen by the NHS Faculty Selection Committee. The 5 member NHS Faculty Selection Committee (which includes the NHS Sponsor) will be appointed by the principal each year. The NHS Faculty Selection Committee will review each application and the Teacher Recommendation Forms and will invite all qualified candidates to become NHS members. All applicants will receive written notification of a decision by the NHS Sponsor.

Membership Requirements-

In order to be invited into the National Honor Society students must meet the following requirements:

Scholarship:Students must have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher.This is a mandatory requirement. Students who do not have a 3.0 unweighted GPA will not be given an application to complete. The GPA will not be rounded to 3.0.

Service: Students must have documented service experiences starting from day 1 of 9th grade in the areas of service to the school and service to the community. These cannot be the same hours that they use for the student service learning requirement for graduation and cannot be service they completed for pay. They may not use any activity for which they receive a grade or credit. Service experiences must fall under the following criteria:

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
  • Cheerfully and enthusiastically renders any requested service to the school
  • Is willing to represent the class or school in inter-class or inter-scholastic competition
  • Does committee and staff work without complaint
  • Participates in some activity outside of school, for example Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, church 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

Leadership: Students must meet the following criteria to be accepted into the NHS:

The student who exercises leadership:

  • Demonstrates initiative in promoting school activities
  • Exercises positive influence in holding up 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

Character: A person of character demonstrates the following qualities, determined by the NHS to be the Six Pillars of Character:

  • Respect
  • Responsibility
  • Trustworthiness
  • Fairness
  • Caring
  • Citizenship

Academic integrity is of utmost importance. Students who do not demonstrate academic integrity will not be selected for the National Honor Society. As set forth the by the NHS, an NHS member must manifest truthfulness in acknowledging obedience to rules, avoiding cheating in written work, and showing unwillingness to profit by the mistakes of others. He or she must demonstrate the highest standards of honesty and reliability.

Please contact Ms. Boxley at or 410-887-0750 if you have any questions about the National Honor Society.