Blog
NHS Fundraiser Brings Out Diverse Talent
Every January, William Mason High School in Mason, OH, hosts one of its biggest events of the year: the NHS talent show. It’s a fundraiser for community groups, and this year’s show raised almost $2,200 for the Lindner Center of HOPE’s treatment program for adolescents. (more…)
Student Leadership
California Student Wins Top National Honor Society Award
Chosen from nearly 17,000 applicants, the National Honor Society (NHS) named Ella Mayor, a senior at Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley, CA, the $25,000 National Honor Society Scholarship winner. NHS is supported by its parent organization, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), which also administers the National Association of Student Councils. “This scholarship means more than...
Student Leadership
Why You Should Participate in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year
Matthew during treatment. Photos courtesy of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Matthew Hauser. My name is Matthew Hauser. I am from Pennsylvania and am a stage four Burkitt’s lymphoma survivor. I was diagnosed with this aggressive form of cancer when I was only two and a half years old. Intensive chemotherapy saved my life,...
Guest Blogs
Election Advice From an NHS Adviser
At New Albany High School in Ohio, where I’ve served as the National Honor Society adviser for almost six years, I don’t worry that we won’t have enough candidates to fill the six officer positions in our chapter. As a high-performing school, we attract a lot of students who become NHS members, and the biggest...
Student Leadership
How I Helped Spread the Word as an NASSP Ambassador
Five months ago, I joined the NHS + NatStuCo Marketing Advisory Council. Why? To be a part of something bigger than myself. The Council is part of NASSP’s Ambassador program, which engages principals, advisers, and students to support NASSP’s mission of lifting school and student leader voices and empowering school leaders and students to lead...
School Leadership, Student Leadership
Why I’m Part of the Student Leadership Network on Mental Health
Throughout my time in high school, I have learned that mental health is not a goal, object, or buzzword but rather an active practice. Taking care of your mental well-being requires self-awareness, patience, and reflection. It may sound daunting, but there are plenty of tools that can help. (more…)
Mental Health/Wellness, Student Leadership
Thinking Inside the Box: Because Boxes Are Reality
Recalling the many times in my career that principals and peers challenged me to think outside the box, and then in turn me sharing the same advice with my student leaders, the idea of "thinking inside the box" seems counterintuitive. After all, we want our students to think about the possibilities when faced with hurdles...
School Leadership, Student Leadership
Gaining Perspective From the LEADership Community
Life is a cumulation of the moments we've had, with some moments more significant than others. As we accumulate experiences, our lives can transform from just one moment. My life-changing experience involves 500+ student leaders from 50+ states and U.S. territories, all in the heart of Washington, D.C. NASSP's LEAD Conference held earlier this month...
Student Leadership
A Season of Giving
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we spoke with Lynnette Hollis, an instructor in the Freshman Transition Academy at Delcastle High School in Wilmington, DE, about the school’s inspiring service project, the Soul to Sole Sock Drive. Hollis is also the adviser of the school club Leading Ladies Empowerment Group and the heart behind the service...
School Leadership, Student Leadership
Encourage Your NJHS Students to Apply for the Outstanding Achievement Award
Are your NJHS students living out the core pillars of the National Junior Honor Society: scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship? If so, it's time to recognize them for their hard work and dedication. The NJHS Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) offers a remarkable opportunity for students to celebrate their accomplishments and further their educational aspirations,...
Student Leadership
Instructional Benefits May Be the #1 Reason to Implement AP Precalculus
Every year, thousands of students pay for college math courses that duplicate the math they mastered in their high school precalculus courses. That’s because they didn’t earn college credit for the college-level math that they learned. AP® Precalculus helps solve that problem by addressing some of the greatest challenges students face in achieving their bachelor’s...
Guest Blogs
Five Critical Skill Sets and Their Instructional Implications
From major societal and technological shifts to climate change, AI, and more, students today live in a rapidly transforming world. In addition to metacognitive skills, I believe there are five key “learning to learn” skill sets that will increase school success and better prepare students for a lifetime of change. (more…)
Guest Blogs
Transforming Schools Into Communities
School leaders want students to succeed and become their best selves, within schools bursting with positivity. However, the reality is that educators are dealing with some hard challenges. Amidst a trifecta of concerns at schools around the country—student learning loss, low student engagement, and a rise in student behavior problems—how can school leaders like yourself...
Guest Blogs, School Leadership
Rethinking Your English Sequence With AP Seminar
AP® Seminar was the fastest-growing AP course in 2023 and saw a 30% increase in student enrollment. Even with such growth, 85% of AP Seminar students earned scores of 3 or higher, the same as the previous year. Today, almost 3,000 schools offer this course. The most rapid adoption is taking place within English departments,...
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Guest Blogs
My Rise Experience: More Than Just a Scholarship
I first heard about Rise during my sophomore year of high school. While scrolling through Instagram, I found a video about a program that provided opportunities for promising young people committed to serving others. This piqued my interest. The application itself was fairly straightforward—all it required was that I record videos talking about my passions...
Guest Blogs, Student Leadership
Why Every Student Council Should Apply for NCOE Awards
Applications for the 2024 National Council of Excellence (NCOE) Awards—representing council activities and projects from January 1 to December 31, 2023—opened last month. To understand the benefits of applying for and receiving such recognition, we spoke with Shawn Freeman, a student council adviser at Ada High School in Ada, OK, and the executive director of...
Student Leadership
Ensuring Safety at Football Games and After-school Events
An exciting part of fall is the return of Friday night football. But tragically, many communities across the country have already been shattered by gun violence this school year on far too many Fridays. While school shootings continue to be a painfully regular occurrence, we hope that Americans refuse to become complacent in accepting this...
School Safety
Four Ways to Ensure Honor Society Induction Ceremonies Run Smoothly
McAnally Middle School in Fort Worth, TX, inducted its first group of National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) students last spring. Kate Thomas, the NJHS adviser and an eighth-grade science teacher at the school, learned a lot that first year about how to run a chapter and, more specifically, how to put together a smooth induction...
School Leadership, Student Leadership
Partnerships Open New Job Opportunities to High School Students
At Harrison High School in Harrison, AR, we are committed to ensuring that every graduate leaves our school as one of “the three Es: enrolled, employed, or enlisted.” This approach has led to a series of initiatives that have transformed our approach to education and career readiness. (more…)
Education Technology and Innovation, School Leadership
Five Tips for New NHS Advisers
Congratulations! You are now an NHS adviser. At this moment, you are probably filled with a variety of emotions—from excited and anxious to overwhelmed and terrified at the thought of beginning your new role. Don’t panic! You are not alone. I must confess that years ago, I too (along with most other NHS advisers I...
School Leadership, Student Leadership