WORTHINGTON DISTRICT
Schools fix rules, restore National Honor Society
Monday, October 13, 2008 3:05 AM
By Charlie Boss

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Entry into the National Honor Society requires more than sterling high-school grades and a long list of volunteer projects.

Candidates also must show character and leadership, traits that parents and students have long argued are not easily translated to paper or judged by a selection committee.

The issue was one reason that Thomas Worthington and Worthington Kilbourne high schools suspended the program last year. But after much discussion this past summer, administrators have reinstated the clubs with new rules aimed at minimizing the subjectivity.

Students at Thomas Worthington now have to include documentation of their community-service activities and letters of recommendation that describe their leadership and character traits.

Both schools bumped up the required grade-point average from 3.2 to 3.5 on a scale in which 4.0 is an A, and Worthington Kilbourne students must have 25 hours of significant community service.

"Our intent was to make sure communication is better on what National Honor Society is and what it's not, so students can decide whether or not National Honor Society is for them," said Kevin Johnson, Kilbourne's assistant principal.

Other National Honor Society chapters in Franklin County struggle with similar challenges. But some principals and advisers say the subjective nature of the process also can help students.

"Kids are going to face many situations where they will have to fill out applications and try on paper to represent themselves to people," said John Kellogg, principal at Bexley High School. "I would rather we use National Honor Society as a learning point as to, 'How do you put your best foot forward?' "

Established in 1921, the National Honor Society has more than 20,000 chapters nationwide and recognizes students for high achievement, leadership, character and service. Once inducted, students are responsible for service projects throughout the year.

"It becomes a really rewarding experience," said Kilbourne senior Joe Donovan, who was part of a committee that revamped the school's requirements this past summer. "It's not just something to put on your resume."

College officials said participation in the program might help students seeking scholarships, but it doesn't carry much weight in admissions.

"It's one of those things where, if it's not on (the application), it's not that we notice that it's not there," said Mabel Freeman, assistant vice president for undergraduate admissions and first-year experience at Ohio State University.

cboss@dispatch.com