Starting a chapter at your school is easy. Follow our step-by-step guide to guarantee your success!
Check your eligibility
All registered schools (public, private, and charter) serving students in grades 9-12 can open a chapter.
Recruit Chapter Advisors
Each chapter needs two members of staff (at least one must be a member of the English faculty) to serve as its responsible teachers, known as Chapter Advisors.
Get authorization
All applications must be authorized by school principals and/or other administrators .
Choose a chapter name
Chapter names should be creative and reflect the community the school serves. Many schools choose to name their chapter after a local writer or a writer who studied at the school, or even after a long-standing member of staff who has inspired students. We encourage chapters to be as creative as possible when choosing their chapter name.
Complete the application
Complete our Charter Application form and make your payment of the start-up fee. This covers the cost of chartering and one school year of school registration with NEHS.
Written instructions and a video tutorial are available to help you complete the application.
Next Steps
Once your application to NEHS has been approved and your start-up fee payment received, you will receive a copy of your school’s Charter and NEHS Chapter Advisor membership certificates.
You then need to enroll student members who meet NEHS requirements via our NEHS Connect chapter administration platform. Enrolling students is quick and easy. All enrolled students who have made their one-time membership fee payment will receive an official membership certificate and are made full NEHS members. For more information about enrolling students, please consult our enrollment guide.
When students are enrolled, your student members can begin to participate in NEHS activities. At this point, Chapter Advisors also become eligible for the range of benefits available.
Fee Structure
NEHS has a straightforward and accessible fee structure.
Student Membership Requirements
An outline of the requirements for student membership are given below. Further information about membership requirements can be found in Article IX: Selection of Members in the NEHS Constitution.
- Candidates for membership must have attended the school the equivalent of one semester prior to being considered, or have been a member of the ELA Honor Society in their final year of middle school. If special circumstances merit, the Chapter Advisor may waive the semester regulation.
- Candidates must have completed the equivalent of two semesters of English prior to induction as members, or have been a member of the ELA Honor Society in their final year of middle school.
- Candidates must have achieved a minimum overall grade point average of a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), or equivalent standard of excellence prior to induction as members.
- Candidates must have achieved a minimum English grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), or equivalent standard of excellence prior to induction as members.
