The National English Honor Society (NEHS), the ELA Honor Society, and Sigma Tau Delta proudly represented their organizations at the NCTE Convention 2024, held in Boston, MA. The delegation included NEHS and ELA Honor Society Director Chris Lockwood; Sigma Tau Delta Director of Marketing and Communications Katie Mudd; NEHS Advisory Council members Michael Penna and Chris Tamarri; and ELA Honor Society Advisory Council member Bridget Colabello.
Our group had the opportunity to engage with hundreds of current and prospective Chapter Advisors at our booth in the Exhibition Hall. Attendees expressed interest in a variety of topics, including awards, scholarships, and grant opportunities available for student members and Chapter Advisors. Other questions focused on the logistics of starting a new chapter and implementing impactful, literacy-focused service projects in their schools and communities.
Participation at the NCTE Convention not only allowed NEHS, the ELA Honor Society, and Sigma Tau Delta to connect with educators from across the nation and beyond, but also to strengthen our ties with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The event also provided valuable opportunities to collaborate with other nonprofit educational organizations and fostered inspiration through the shared enthusiasm for English teaching expressed by every attendee.
“The NCTE Convention was a great reminder of the diversity that the title of “English Teacher” can encompass. Some of those I met were primarily interested in literature study, and in the way that a good book can illuminate an underexposed perspective. Some were committed grammarians, with passionate perspectives on Oxford commas or the passive voice. Some celebrated our discipline’s opportunity to give shape and scope to the ever-developing frontier of imagination. Some saw in our work the potential for great debate, and how illuminating philosophical perspectives can foster community. But everyone I talked to had one thing in common: Commitment to the belief that studying English can help bring people together.”—Chris Tamarri
Stay tuned for more details about NEHS, ELA Honor Society, and Sigma Tau Delta participation at the NCTE Convention 2025, set to take place in Denver, CO. Chapter Advisors interested in presenting at the NCTE Convention 2025 are encouraged to apply for a Professional Support Grant to help fund their participation and share their expertise with the wider educational community.
National English Honor Society
The National English Honor Society (NEHS), founded and sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, is the only international organization exclusively for secondary students and faculty who, in the field of English, merit special note for past and current accomplishments. Individual secondary schools are invited to petition for a local chapter, through which individuals may be inducted into Society membership. Immediate benefits of affiliation include academic recognition, scholarship and award eligibility, and opportunities for networking with others who share enthusiasm for, and accomplishment in, the language arts.
America’s first honor society was founded in 1776, but high school students didn’t have access to such organizations for another 150 years. Since then, high school honor societies have been developed in leadership, drama, journalism, French, Spanish, mathematics, the sciences, and in various other fields, but not in English. In 2005, National English Honor Society launched and has been growing steadily since, becoming one of the largest academic societies for secondary schools.
As Joyce Carol Oates writes, “This is the time for which we have been waiting.” Or perhaps it was Shakespeare: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer . . .” we celebrate English studies through NEHS.
National English Honor Society accepts submissions to our blog, NEHS Museletter, from all membership categories (students, Advisors, and alumni). If you are interested in submitting a blog, please read the Suggested Guidelines on our website. Email any questions and all submissions to: submit@nehsmuseletter.us.
