By-Laws

Bettye Myers Middle School Chapter

National Junior Honor Society

ARTICLE I:  NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1.      The name of this chapter shall be the Bettye Myers Middle School Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society.

Section 2.      The purpose of this chapter shall be to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the development of character in students.

ARTICLE II:  MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.      Membership in this chapter shall be known as active, honorary, and graduate.  Active members become graduate members at graduation.  Graduate and honorary members have no vote in chapter affairs.

Section 2.      Membership in this chapter is an honor bestowed upon deserving students by the faculty, and shall be based on the criteria of Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character.

Section 3.      Eligibility:

a.      Candidates eligible for election to this chapter must be members of the 7th grade class.

b.      To be eligible for selection to membership in this chapter, the candidate must have been in attendance for at least one semester at Myers Middle School.

c.      Candidates eligible for election to the chapter shall have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or 90% in core classes.  All students who can rise in scholarship to or above such standard may be admitted to candidacy for selection to membership.

d.      Upon meeting the grade level, attendance, and GPA standard requirements, candidates shall then be considered based on their service, leadership, and character.

ARTICLE III:  SELECTION OF MEMBERS

Section 1.      The selection of members to this chapter shall be by a majority vote of the Faculty Council, consisting of five faculty members appointed by the principal.  The chapter adviser(s) shall be the sixth, non-voting, ex-officio member(s) of the Faculty Council.

Section 2.      Prior to selection, the following shall occur:

a.      Students’ academic records shall be reviewed to determine scholastic eligibility by the first two weeks of the second semester.

b.      Students who are eligible scholastically (“candidates”) shall be notified and asked to attend an informational meeting about National Junior Honor Society and fill out an application.

c.      The faculty shall be requested to evaluate candidates determined to be scholastically eligible using the official evaluation form provided by the chapter adviser(s).

d.      The Faculty Council shall review the Student Activity Information Form and faculty evaluations in order to determine membership.

Section 3.      The selection of new, active members shall be held once a year during the second semester of the school year.  Fall selections will be added when needed.

Section 4.      Candidates become members when inducted at a special ceremony.

Section 5.      An active member of the National Junior Honor Society who transfers from this school will be given a letter indicating the status of his/her membership and signed by the Principal or adviser upon request.

Section 6.      An active member of the National Junior Honor Society who transfers to this school will be automatically accepted for membership in this chapter with verification from the previous chapter.  The Faculty Council shall grant to the transferring member one semester to attain the membership requirements of this chapter and, thereafter, this member must maintain those requirements for this chapter in order to retain his/her membership.

ARTICLE IV:  DISCIPLINE AND DISMISSAL

Section 1.      Any member who falls below the standards of scholarship, leadership, character, or service may be dismissed from the Bettye Myers Middle School Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society.  A member of the National Junior Honor Society is expected to maintain his/her academic standing and take an active role in service and leadership to his/her school and community.

Section 2.      If a member’s cumulative GPA falls below an 85, he/she will be given a written warning and a time period for improvement.  If the cumulative GPA remains below standard at the end of the warning period, the student will be subject to further disciplinary action by the Faculty Council that may include dismissal from the chapter.

Section 3.      Violation of the law or school regulations can result in dismissal of a member.  These violations include, but are not limited to, stealing, destruction of property, cheating, truancy, or possession, selling, or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at school or school-related activities.

Section 4.      Offenders of the school conduct code such as profanity, unexcused absence, excessive tardiness or any other action calling for an office referral, ISSC, or suspension will receive a written warning notification.  A conference may be requested by either the Faculty Council or student/parent.  If the member is involved in another violation of the school conduct code, the member may be dismissed.

Section 5.      Attendance at all regularly scheduled meetings is mandatory. Members may not miss more than 3 meetings per semester without a written excuse from their teacher/parent.

Section 6.      In all cases of pending dismissal:

a.      The member will receive written notification indicating the reason for possible dismissal from the adviser/Faculty Council.  The member and adviser will discuss the written notification in a conference.  Situations that involve flagrant violations of school rules or the law can warrant disciplinary action without a written warning although a hearing must still be held.

b.      The member will be given the opportunity to respond to the charge against him/her at a hearing before the Faculty Council prior to the vote on dismissal in accordance with due process identified in Article X of the National Constitution. The member has the opportunity to present his/her defense either in person or in writing.  The Faculty Council will then vote on whether to dismiss.  A majority vote of the Faculty Council is needed to dismiss any member.

c.      The results of the Faculty Council vote will be reviewed by the principal, and then if confirmed, expressed in a letter sent to the student, parents, and principal. Dismissed members must surrender any membership emblems to the adviser.

d.      The Faculty Council’s decision may be appealed to the building principal and afterwards through the school district discipline policy.

e.      When a student is dismissed or resigns, he/she is no longer a member and may never again be considered for membership in the National Junior Honor Society.

Section 7.      In lieu of dismissal, the Faculty Council may impose disciplinary sanctions upon a member as deemed appropriate.

ARTICLE V:  OFFICERS

Section 1.      The officers of the chapter shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Public relations liaison/Historian, Parliamentarian, and Treasurer.

Section 2.      Student officers shall be elected after the return to school in the fall.

Section 3.      A majority vote shall be necessary to elect any officer of this chapter.  If the first vote does not yield a majority, a second vote shall be taken of the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes.

Section 4.      The President will preside over bi-monthly chapter meetings and executive committee meetings, plan and implement major service projects, and preside over the induction ceremony.

Section 5.      All officers must be available for meetings before school on every Tuesday except for the Parliamentarian. In order to prevent a conflict of time and priorities, no student may be an officer for both NJHS and Student Council.

Section 6.     The Vice president  will stand in for the president when necessary, attend all executive committee meetings, keep record of member attendance at

meetings and service activities, and administrate the point system to determine which members are still in good standing.

Section 7.       The Parliamentarian will break tie votes, recruit and organize members for service activities

Section 8.      The secretary will keep the website updated with current postings of meeting minutes, a calendar of events, upcoming volunteer opportunities, and members' current point totals, and will attend all executive committee meetings.

Section 9.      The treasurer will keep records of the financial status of the Myers Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society, will sign check requests, will help collect and record dues and fundraising monies, will deposit funds, will shop for and purchase supplies for chapter service activities, and will attend all executive committee meetings.

Section 10     The Public Relations Liason/Historian will be responsible for documenting the year’s activities and keeping a monthly record of any upcoming or recent activity.

Section 11.    If officers are removed from office, move, or are unable to complete the terms for which they had been elected, then a group composed of the remaining officers and the adviser(s) can appoint other members to fill those vacancies until the next election.

ARTICLE VI:  EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1.      The executive committee shall consist of the faculty adviser(s) and the chapter officers.

Section 2.      The executive committee shall have general charge of the meetings and the business of the chapter, but any action by the executive committee is subject to the review of the chapter members.

ARTICLE VII:  MEETINGS

Section 1.      Meetings of this chapter shall be tri-monthly.  The executive committee will meet the first Tuesday of each month. Special meetings may be called and members will be required to complete service hours outside of regular meeting times.

Section 2.      All chapter members are expected to attend all regularly-scheduled meetings.

Section 3. Attendance at all required meetings is mandatory. If a meeting is missed, a written excuse from the member’s teacher/parent is required.

ARTICLE VIII:  ACTIVITIES

Section 1.      There shall be no more than two fundraising projects scheduled each semester.

Section 2.      The chapter shall determine one or more group service projects for each semester.  All members are required to participate in at least two group projects per year.

Section 3.      All members are to participate in individual service projects based on their own interests.

Section 4.      The service projects shall have the following characteristics:  fulfill a need within the school or community, have the support of the administration and the faculty, be appropriate and educationally defensible, and be well-planned, organized, and executed.

Section 5.      The chapter shall publicize its projects in a positive manner.

Section 6      Each member will need a total of 20 service hours for the year. A minimum of 10 of those hours must be group service hours.  

ARTICLE IX:  EMBLEM

Section 1.      Each member of this chapter who is in good standing with regard to the membership standards and member obligations shall have the privilege of possessing the membership adopted by the National Junior Honor Society.

Section 2.      Any member who withdraws, resigns, or is dismissed from the chapter shall return the card to the chapter.

ARTICLE X:  DUES           

Section 1.      Annual dues for this chapter shall be $10.00

Section 2.      Dues will be payable to the chapter treasurer or adviser(s) within the first 90 days of fall semester.

ARTICLE XI:  POWERS

Section 1.      The chapter adviser(s) is given the authority to supervise the administration of chapter activities, as delegated by the school principal.

Section 2.      The principal shall reserve the right to approve all activities and decisions of the chapter.

Section 3.      These by-laws are designed to amplify provisions of the National Constitution and cannot contradict any components thereof.  The chapter is obligated to adhere to the provisions of the National Constitution in all activities it undertakes.

ARTICLE XII:  AMENDMENTS

Section 1.      These by-laws may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the chapter, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given to members at least one month prior to the vote.  The exceptions are Articles III and IV, which are developed by the Faculty Council with the approval of the principal.

Section 2.      By-laws and amendments must be consistent with the Constitution of the National Junior Honor Society.

Section 3.      Candidates who wish to appeal a denial of membership must resubmit their application along with two letters of recommendation. One letter must be from a teacher. The other letter must come from any other non-family member.

Selection Process

        The Bettye Myers Middle School chapter of the National Junior Honor Society is a duly chartered and affiliated chapter of this prestigious national organization.  Membership is open to those students who meet the required standards in four areas of evaluation:  scholarship, leadership, service, and character.  Standards for selection are established by the national office of NJHS and have been revised to meet our local chapter needs.  Students are selected to be members by a Faculty Council which bestows this honor upon qualified students on behalf of the faculty of our school each fall.

        Students at the end of the 7th grade are eligible for membership.  For the scholarship criterion, a student must have a cumulative grade point average of 90 or better.  Those students who meet this criterion are invited to complete a Student Activity Information Form that provides the Faculty Council with information regarding the candidate’s leadership and service.  A history of leadership experiences and participation in school or community service is recommended.

        To evaluate a candidate’s character, the Faculty Council uses two forms of input:  first, school disciplinary records are reviewed; second, members of the faculty are solicited for input regarding their professional reflections on each candidate.  These input and the Student Activity Information Forms are carefully reviewed by the Faculty Council to determine membership.  Members earn or lose points for each category of selection. Candidates with a score 25 or better are eligible for membership. A majority vote of the council is necessary for selection.  Candidates are notified regarding selection or non-selection according to a predetermined schedule.

        Following notification, a formal induction ceremony is held at the school to recognize all the newly-selected members.  Once inducted, new members are required to maintain the same level of performance in all four criteria that led to their selection.  This obligation includes regular attendance at chapter meetings held bi-monthly during the school year and participation in the chapter service projects.  Please refer to the chapter by-laws for further obligations of membership, officer duties, etc.

        Students or parents who have questions regarding the selection process or membership obligations can contact the chapter adviser:  Tyler Horner (940) 369-1591 rhorner@dentonisd.org